Family
by ShidesuHejjihoggu
Summary: AU Sonic is a runaway orphan trying to find his purpose in life, when he meets a stranger who will change his life forever. DISCONTINUED!
1. Chapter 1

Yay, another story! I'm creating a lot of new strories, aren't I?

To be honest, I thought up this story months ago after a dream I had.

Summary: Sonic is a runaway orphan trying to find his purpose in life, when he is taken off the streets by someone who will change his life forever.

Note: this will be an AU, so there might be some OOCness, and I have slightly changed Sonic's appearance. Also, in the chapters, it may switch between the main characters' perspectives, that's why I have the lines, so don't get confused. I will reveal the 2nd main character's identity next chapter, but until then, I'll leave hints as to who he is.

Disclaimer: I own nothing except this story.

Chapter 1

It was cold out on the streets, but he knew it was better than living in that Chaos-forsaken orphanage. As snow fell, he looked around, huddled in an alleyway. As he looked, he made sure that no one near him saw his eyes. If they did, they'd hate him, and call him a freak, just like the other kids in the orphanage. He had bi-colored eyes, one a bright emerald green, and the other was a fiery ruby red. He had managed to steal a pair of sunglasses, but they didn't fit quite right, as they were a little loose and could slip off at any time.

His stomach growled, and it was then that he wondered what he could do for food. Sighing, he stood up and started walking around the area, looking for scraps out of garbage cans, still making sure that his eyes were covered.

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He hated the cold, but as he made his way through the city, looking at the homeless beggars, most of them children, he couldn't help wonder what he could do to make sure they could get some food. Maybe donate to the soup kitchens? Yes, that could work. Then everyone who couldn't afford food would have something in their stomachs.

Stuck in his thoughts, he collided with a young boy, who…was wearing sunglasses? Only they were knocked off when they both fell to the ground, and as soon as he saw the youth's eyes, he heart nearly stopped.

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Oh, no! His sunglasses! Searching desperately for them, he really hoped the man hadn't seen his eyes. He was scared the male ebony hedgehog would run away from him, yell that he was a freak, or even hit him. His search was stopped when 1, he saw that the male's eyes matched his own ruby eye, and 2, said hedgehog was looking at him strangely, like he'd seen a ghost.

"It can't be…." was what he heard.

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"It can't be…." that was the only thing he could say. Could it really be? After all these years? The proof was right in front of him. No one had eyes like that, except for…

His _son_!

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He watched as the older male's expressions changed from shock, to hope, then to happiness.

Now he was really getting scared. What if this man was a sicko who only wanted to use his body? He'd seen that happen plenty of times. But luckily his odd eyes were good for something after all, because they kept everyone away. But that wouldn't explain the happiness he saw…would it?

What was going on?

He was shocked when the stranger suddenly hugged him.

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Overcome with joy at the fact that he found his son, he gave into the urge to hug him. He felt the navy blue colored youth tense slightly, but he thought it was just surprise. It was then that he let go of the boy.

"I can't believe it. After all this time, I've finally found you."

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Now he was confused. What did the older male mean by that? After 2 years of living on the streets, at first he thought this man really was a sicko, one who had been stalking him. But that still didn't explain the happiness he'd seen moments ago. He was getting frustrated. What the heck was going on?!

Finally, he had enough sense to ask, "Who are you?" and his frustration was evident in his voice.

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He wasn't surprised that was the first question he was asked. Still, he wanted his son to be more comfortable with him before he revealed who he really was.

Instead, he carefully replied, "I am…a friend of your mother's."

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At the mention of his mother, he looked away, sorrow in his eyes. Even though it had been years since his mother's death, it was still painful to think about.

He closed his eyes in the hopes that he would be able to push the memories away.

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He felt a pang in his heart at making the youth so sad. He wanted to help ease his pain.

But how could he do that without giving away who he was to the child?

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It took him awhile, but he was able to keep the memories at bay for now. Still, he wondered…

"What do you want from me? Why were you searching for me?"

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He could practically feel the distrust coming off him. Obviously, the boy had been through so much, that it was only natural he'd be wary of others.

"I want you to come live with me. I spent a long time looking for you, Sonic."

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His eyes narrowed. He still didn't trust this man.

"How do you know my name?" he asked.

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It wasn't going to be easy to gain the boy's trust. He knew that from the beginning. He still had to try.

"As I said, I am a friend of your mother's. We met in secret for quite some time, and she told me about you," he lied. It would hurt the youth if he knew the truth so soon.

----------------\

The man was lying. He could tell by the careful way he was choosing his words. But the offer of living in a decent house for the first time in two years was tempting. He figured if the older male hurt him in any way, then he'd leave immediately without looking back.

"…I accept your offer. It would be good to finally have a home," he said, giving a small smile.

----------------\

At those words, he felt pure joy coursing through him. He finally had his son back! He could teach him all that he knows, care for him. All the things he wasn't able to do before.

They could finally be a family.

Smiling back, he said, "I'm glad you took my offer. I'm sure you're tired of living in the streets, am I right?"

----------------\

"It wasn't too bad, as long as no one saw my eyes…" Looking at the ground, he finally found his sunglasses, picked them up, and put them back on, once again covering his bi-colored eyes. "People took one look at them, and they'd scorn me, sometimes even beat me. After a while, I couldn't beg for food or money anymore, so I had to take to digging in bins and stealing."

Looking back at the older hedgehog, he saw his fists were clenched, and there was anger in his expression. His ears folded back abit. Did he say something wrong?

----------------\

He tried to contain his anger as he listened to the tale. How dare those people hurt his son! His only son! Noting the worried look on the younger male's face, he forced himself to calm down.

Once he was sure he was fully calm, he said, "You won't have to worry about that anymore. Trust me."

----------------\

Surprisingly, he _did_ trust this stranger. He seemed familiar, but he didn't know why. What was it about this older male that made him feel like he could trust his words? And what about his expression? He looked like a protective parent about to defend his child. Why was that?

"Alright, I'll trust you. Now where-"

He was about to ask where the ebony hedgehog lived, when his stomach growled loudly. He had been so focused on the situation, he forgot about his hunger. Embarrassed, he blushed and ducked his head. This got a chuckle out of the elder male.

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"Feeling hungry, eh? Well, since you agreed to live with me, I'll make sure you get fed."

Standing, he helped blue boy to his feet, noticing that though he wasn't emaciated, he was indeed thin. That was easily remedied.

"Now, are you ready to come to my home?" he asked.

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Ready? Of course he was ready! This was probably the only chance he'd get at a real home!

"Yes, I'm ready," he said, nodding.

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"Well, then, brace yourself," he replied, taking Sonic's arm. "Chaos Control!"

1 nanosecond later…

They arrived at their destination, a large, but still homely-looking house. To say that Sonic was shocked would be an understatement. Again, this got a chuckle from him.

"Impressed by the size of my house? Or are you wondering how we got here so quickly?"

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"…both…" That was the only thing that came out of his mouth.

Holy crap, this place was _huge_! He _did _also wonder how the heck they got there so fast. Did it have to with those words, what were they? …oh, yeah! Chaos Control. Maybe the older male had some sort of speed ability, like he did.

"What was…?"

----------------\

"That was a little move I like to call Chaos Control. It allows me to warp through time and space."

He started heading towards the house. When he noticed the younger hedgehog wasn't following him after a while, he turned back to him.

"Are you coming?"

----------------\

He was right. This stranger did have a speed ability. But to be able to travel through time and space? That was impossible. There's no way anyone could do that!

He was jerked out of his thoughts when he heard the older male ask him something. He noticed that he hadn't followed him.

"Yes, I'm coming!" He quickly caught up in a matter of seconds.

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He was impressed by Sonic's speed. Looks like they already have something in common. He smiled at the thought of finally being able to be with his son.

Turning back towards the house, he continued to walk to it, making sure now and then that the youth didn't space out again.

When they arrived at the front door, he opened it and allowed the navy blue male to go inside first.

'Welcome home, my son.'

So, how'd you like the first chapter? Did you guys figure out who the "stranger" is yet? If you get it right, you get a virtual cookie! Sonic fans, don't kill me because I changed Sonic's appearance. I had to do it for the sake of this story.

R&R!

ShidesuHejjihoggu


	2. Chapter 2

Everyone glad I'm working on another chapter? I know the last chapter was a little confusing and/or frustrating to read with the switching POVs, so I'm just going to write the rest of the story with the two perspectives merged, though this chapter is mostly with Sonic's.

And like I said, the mysterious person's identity will be revealed this chapter.

Disclaimer: I only own the story.

Chapter 2

After a tour of the house, where Sonic was surprised that he had his own room ready for him, the two hedgehogs were down in the kitchen.

"Is it ready yet?" Sonic asked, sitting at the small table. Since he didn't get to eat earlier due to bumping into the ebony look-alike, he was getting really impatient waiting for his dinner.

"It's nearly done, so be patient."

"What are you making, anyway?"

"If you really want to know, you'll have to wait until it's done." That was probably not the best thing to say to a hungry teenager, but Sonic did need to learn the meaning of patience.

"Come on, tell me! Sure, I sometimes went days without eating, but I only endured it because there wasn't a lot of food on the streets." They both knew that was true, but it still made the jet black hedgehog stop moving for a second.

"Think of something else. If you keep complaining about waiting, time will only slow down."

"You sound like a fortune cookie," Sonic remarked. He hadn't had a fortune cookie in years, but that didn't mean he forgot what they were.

"That's because I did get it from a fortune cookie, I just modernized it." That was also true. It wasn't that hard to modernize a fortune cookie, since he understood the meaning of it.

"Speaking of time, how did you do that Chaos thingy?" That was something he wanted to know since arriving by it.

"You mean Chaos Control? It's something I was born with," the ebony male said.

"How are you born with something like that?"

"You do realize that by asking me questions, you're only turning my focus towards you, and that that's going to cause me to take longer to make the food?"

"Alright, fine, I won't ask anymore questions," Sonic conceded defeat. 'At least until I'm done eating,' he added silently.

It wasn't too long, though it still seemed like ages to Sonic, before the food was ready. It wasn't what he was expecting, though.

"You made soup?" he asked, not quite believing it.

"Yes. Since your body is used to going for days without food, you'll have to deal with soup until you can handle solid foods."

"This sucks. Why can't I eat something else?"

"If you do, you'll most likely just throw it back up. Now eat."

Sonic crossed his arms and huffed. There is no way he's eating bland foods.

"If you're not going to eat, then I guess you'll just have to watch me eat," the older hedgehog said, going back to his soup.

Sonic just glared at him through his sunglasses, which he had to adjust every few seconds so they wouldn't fall off.

"Are you ever going to take those off? There's no need for them here."

"I don't like anyone seeing my eyes. That's not a crime, is it?"

"No, but you shouldn't rely on them. Hiding your problems isn't the best way to confront them."

Sonic rolled his eyes at this. "And you know this, how?"

"I know a lot of things. It's called reading."

"Tch. Yeah, well, I haven't even _looked_ at a book a few years. There weren't a lot of them at the orphanage, and I didn't see the point of them on the streets."

"How long were you at the orphanage?"

"A few days. I escaped the first chance I got," Sonic said, looked proud of his accomplishment as though he won the Olympics.

The ebony hedgehog quirked an eyebrow at this. "What made you leave in the first place?"

"I didn't like the idea of being picked to be part of someone else's family, so I ran away. Well, that, and I was sure no one would even want me. You know, 'cause of my eyes."

"Appearances aren't everything."

"Oh, please. None of the other kids wanted to be around me, and the caretakers flat-out ignored me whenever I complained about it."

"Did you even try to get along with them?"

"What was the point? I didn't want to be there anyway."

"And it took you days to escape?"

"I was lucky enough to arrive there days before their annual field trip. While everyone else was loading the buses, I ran off. I doubt they'll ever notice."

"And you were on your own since then…"

Sonic noticed that there was some sadness in the older male's voice. He didn't understand why that was. He chose to act like he didn't hear it. He'd probably get some answers later anyway.

"Yeah, I was. I got used to it, though. I was always acting independent, so being out on the streets didn't seem different."

"Did you act independent with your mother?"

Sonic stiffened at the mention of his mother, but he still managed to say, "I sometimes did. Drove her crazy, though."

"What about your father?"

"My dad? I don't…really know. He left when I was little, and all Mom said was that it was something for work, but he never came back. We both assumed he died."

'They though I was dead? I guess it makes sense, seeing as I couldn't remember anything for a year after the accident.'

"I don't remember much of him, but I do remember the time he took me stargazing. He said that the stars were the spirits of the dead, and that the spirits of our loved ones always shined the brightest because of their love for us." (1)

Sonic saw the look of surprise on the ebony hedgehog's face, and the next few words were so low he could barely hear them, but he still heard, "You remember?"

"Yeah, I remember. Why do you want to know?" he asked, obviously confused, but feeling suspicious.

"What? Oh, no reason. I just wondered, because I was there too, and I'm just surprised that you remembered something from when you were so young," the older look-alike said. 'That was close.'

Sonic didn't believe him, but he'd find out sooner or later what the hedgehog in front of him was hiding. He'd make sure of it.

"You know…you know my name, but you never told me yours."

The ebony male blinked, then smiled. "That's right, I never did. Guess I have to fix that. You can call me Shadow."

'Shadow? That's an odd name, but it does fit. Why does it sound familiar, though?'

_T.B.C._

Okay, I know this isn't a long chapter, but I had a bit writer's block. Hope you guys liked it.

(1)- This sounds like something from The Lion King, but it's not. It's similar, but it's not really the same thing Mufasa said.

So what did you guys think? Leave a comment/review!

ShidesuHejjihoggu


	3. Chapter 3

Thanks for the positive reviews, guys! They really made my day!

Disclaimer: I own nothing but the plot.

Chapter 3

Sonic, despite having been given a tour of the place, decided to do some exploring. He wanted to see if there were any secret passageways he could hide in.

As he wandered the hallways, he came across one of the rooms Shadow said not to go in. Naturally, he wanted to, and there was no better time than now, seeing as Shadow left to run some errands.

He wondered what the ebony hedgehog was hiding from him.

'Whatever secret you're hiding, I'm going to find out what it is,' he thought determinedly.

He tried turning the knob, only to find out it was locked.

He tried kicking the door down, but all that got him was an aching foot.

Trying to bash it open with his head…he just might have a concussion now.

His sunglasses also flew off, but he didn't care at the moment.

'Damn it, nothing's working! How am I supposed to get this door open? Wait a minute…' He reached into his quills, a convenient storage, and pulled out a pocketknife, which his mom gave to him, saying that it was from his dad. 'I knew this thing would come in handy someday.'

He tried using the small blade to pick the lock, and he was close to succeeding, when…

"What are you doing?!" a familiar voice yelled, startling him enough to drop the knife.

He spun around, his dual-colored eyes as wide as a deer's in the headlights, and sure enough, there was Shadow, who looked a little pissed off.

"I was just, um…"

"Didn't I say that room was off-limits?"

"Yes."

"And you still tried to get in?"

"Yes." He was strongly reminded of the times he got in trouble with his mom. He squirmed uncomfortably under Shadow's gaze. 'How is he making me feel like I'm a little kid again?'

'He should be feeling guilty. He could've found out who I am to him. He doesn't need to know that now,' Shadow thought. His gaze travelled to the knife on the floor, and his eyes widened.

"Where did you get this?" he asked, picking it up.

His gloved finger traced the words he carved himself on the blade. _Keep this at your side, and I will always be with you._

"My mom…she gave it to me before she died…and she said that it was from my dad."

"How did she…?"

"Die? She had a rare type of cancer. It had gone undetected for years."

It was unexpected for the both of them when Shadow suddenly hugged him.

This was an awkward moment.

"Um…Shadow?"

"Right. Sorry," Shadow said, releasing Sonic.

"Why were you interested in the knife? It doesn't mean much to you…does it?"

'He's getting suspicious, but he still doesn't have enough evidence,' Shadow thought, before saying aloud, "It does have some meaning to me. I helped your father make it."

"You did? That means…you know who my dad is. Shadow, please, tell me who he is. What was he like?"

Shadow looked at him. "Is that why you were trying to open this door?"

"No, it's just…I want to know who my dad is. What he's like, his hobbies, favorite food, anything."

Shadow's mind raced, trying to think of a valid excuse quickly. "He didn't really tell me much. He liked to keep things to himself, but he did like talking about you."

Sonic wasn't fooled; he saw that Shadow looked panicked.

"You're hiding something from me. Why won't you tell me the truth?" Sonic asked, hurt evident in his voice.

"Sonic-"

"No! I don't want to hear anymore of your lies!" Sonic shouted, before running off, but Shadow expected this kind of reaction, and grabbed Sonic's wrist.

"Listen to me, Sonic. I will tell you the truth, but I can't right now." Shadow was worried. He didn't want Sonic to lose the trust that was still forming between them.

"How do I know you aren't lying right now?!"

"When I last met with your mother, she figured out who I was. Since I was suffering from amnesia, she told me who I was. We were both shocked, but she said that if anything happened to her, I had to find you. She made me promise not to reveal who I am to you until you're at least 15."

"…You had amnesia?"

"Yes. I was in an accident which gave me my amnesia. I didn't regain my memories until a year later, which was actually a few months after I made the promise to her."

Sonic had been looking at Shadow, looking for any signs of dishonesty, but he found none. He was telling the truth this time.

"Wait, did you say you can't tell me anything until I'm 15?"

"Yes, didn't you her me the first time?"

Sonic grinned. "I only have to wait a couple of weeks, then."

Shadow felt a pang in his heart. He'd missed 9 of his son's birthdays.

Without realizing it, Shadow let go of Sonic's wrist and walked away, leaving behind a confused Sonic.

'What's up with him? I tell when my birthday is, and he goes all silent on me. What is he hiding?'

He felt even more curious about the room he tried to break-in to. He suddenly wished he was in that room, and no sooner had he wished, that he found himself in a semi-dark room.

"Okay…where am I?"

Shadow had suddenly felt a surge of energy coming from behind him, and when he turned around, Sonic was gone.

'Did he just…?'

_T.B.C_

Sorry if this was a short chapter. I wasn't too sure on what to type, and sorry if the dialogue in this chapter had suddenly switched moods. I'm not really sure what caused that.

Can anyone guess how Sonic got into the dark room? You get a virtual cookie of you get it right!

Review, please!

ShidesuHejjihoggu


	4. Chapter 4

Yay, another chapter! As I said in my other story, "Were-san and Oni-nii" I was out of town over the weekend and forgot to pack my laptop.

Cookies go to Simone Robinson for correctly guessing how Sonic got in the room! *hands over a plate of virtual chocolate chip cookies*

Disclaimer: I don't own any characters, they belong to SEGA

Chapter 4

Shadow's heart was pounding. There was no telling where Sonic could end up with Chaos Control, seeing as he didn't have any teachings on how to use it.

The only thing he could do was search every room. But where should he start?

He went to the top floor to search, going to work his way to the bottom.

- -

As Sonic's eyes adjusted to the darkness, he saw that it was some sort of storage room.

There was a table that had some pictures on it, some fake plants, a couple of boxes, and an old crib. 'What's a crib doing in here?' he thought.

Unsure of exactly where he was, he decided to have a look at the pictures. It was too dark to see them properly, and they were really dusty, but what he could see shocked him.

They were pictures of him and his mom! There was also someone else in some of them, most likely his dad, but that they were too faded for him to fully identify.

Was he still in Shadow's house? If so, why were these pictures here? It didn't make any sense.

- -

Shadow had checked nearly half the rooms in his house, and there was still no sign of Sonic.

Shadow was getting worried. If Sonic ended up in that room…there's no telling how Sonic would react if he saw the pictures.

He needed to find him, fast.

He Chaos Controlled from room to room. When he ended up in front of the room he caught Sonic trying to break into, he was worried again.

'If he found out, he may lose all trust in me for not telling. Then again, he does only have a couple of weeks before I'm supposed to tell him.'

Reaching into his quills, he pulled out the key to the locked storage room.

He inserted the key, unlocked the door, turned the knob, and…

- -

The sound of the door unlocking startled Sonic. He knocked over one of the pictures, which fell to the floor with a crash. He knelt down and frantically tried to pick it up.

'Oh, shit.'

He was starting to panic as the door opened to reveal Shadow. He backed away, only to cut his hand on one of the jagged pieces of glass.

"Ow!"

Immediately, Shadow was at his side. "Are you alright?"

"It's only a cut, why do you care?" he asked, his panic subsiding.

"I care, because technically, I'm your guardian."

"Since when are you my guardian?"

"Since I brought you here," Shadow said. This was partially true. He was trying to hide his immense relief that he found Sonic unharmed. Well, alive and healthy.

"Still, it's just a cut. Nothing to worry about." Why was Shadow making a big deal of it?

"We should still wash it so it doesn't get infected."

"I'm fine!" Sonic protested. He glanced down at the fallen picture, and noticed that the quills of the unidentifiable hedgehog stuck up like Shadow's did. 'What the…?' Slowly, he started to piece things together, and his eyes widened in shock.

Shadow watched the different emotions play out on the navy blue teen's face. Pout, surprise, thoughtful, then shock and realization. He wondered why there was realization, and when he looked at what Sonic was staring at, he knew why.

The picture! He couldn't believe he forgot about it!

He looked back at Sonic, who now had an unreadable expression. He grew concerned. "Sonic?"

But Sonic didn't answer him. He didn't know what to say.

It could've been avoided. The orphanage, living on the streets, the scorn, everything.

Finally, he managed to say, or rather, whisper, "…Why? Why did you keep it a secret? Why didn't you tell me you were my dad?!" He yelled out the last part before running out of the room in tears.

"Sonic, wait!" Shadow shouted, running after his son.

_T.B.C._

Okay, sorry for the really short chapter! I tried to make it longer, but nothing I wrote seemed to work with my expectations.

Is everyone t'd off that I made Sonic figure it out so soon? And for the cliffhanger? I apologize.

Let me know if you liked this chapter!

ShidesuHejjihoggu


	5. Chapter 5

Thanks for the reviews, faithful readers! I'm glad that people like this story!

I know that most of you didn't like the cliffhanger, but i'll try not to do it again, unless I can't think of a good way to end the chapter.

Hope you enjoy this chapter!

Disclaimer: I own nothing but the story.

Chapter 5

Sonic kept running. He didn't care where he ended up. 'Why didn't he tell me?' he thought angrily.

He couldn't believe that Shadow had kept something like this from him! Then again, they had met just earlier that day. Still, what gave Shadow the right to hide a secret that big? That important?

He ignored the reasons Shadow had said that kept him from revealing the particular information.

He felt like his whole world was crashing down on him again.

"Sonic, watch out!"

Sonic had been so lost in his thoughts, he didn't realize that he was heading for one of the balconies outside. When he did, he tried to stop in time, but he crashed into the railing, breaking it, and was sent hurtling to the ground.

Luckily, Shadow had managed to catch him by the wrist before gravity could completely take over.

Sonic looked up at his rescuer, confused and surprised, but hurt was still evident in his eyes.

"Sonic…I understand your pain, but give me a chance to explain everything, and…if you want to, you can stay here permanently."

"You don't understand…you'll never understand."

"Then help me understand. I want to ease your suffering, but I can't do that if you don't trust me."

"Why should I trust you?! You should've told me when you found me!"

"I wanted to, but I thought that if we had some trust between each other, it would be easier to tell you the truth!"

"Easier for me? Or for you?"

"For the both of us, but you especially. I thought that you would be able to handle the truth better if we had a stronger bond."

"Your thoughts were selfish!"

"They weren't selfish," Shadow reasoned, pulling Sonic up. "I was thinking of you the whole time."

"It sure as hell didn't seem like it!" Sonic yelled.

Shadow's eyes narrowed. "Watch your language!" he scolded.

"Why should i?! I'm not a little kid!"

"But you're not an adult, either, Sonic! You still have some restrictions until you are!"

"In case you forgot, I've lived in the streets the past couple of years! I _had_ no restrictions!"

"Would you rather live out on the streets fighting for food and being scorned? Or live somewhere where you don't have to worry about that anymore?"

Sonic looked away, conflict in his dual-colored eyes. Where _did_ he want to live?

Shadow, understanding that his son needed time to think, let go Sonic's wrists. "It's your decision. When you're ready to answer, I'll be in the den." He turned to leave, but before he did leave, he said, "If you leave, you're free to come back at any time. My doors are always open to you." And with that, he left the balcony.

Sonic sat down, leaning on the section of rail that hadn't broken, thinking of the pros and cons of both choices.

If he left, he'd be free again, but he would have to deal with hunger, finding shelter from the elements, and hate.

If he stayed, he'd have food, a nice home, and a family, but it also meant he would have to stick to any rules that Shadow set.

What was he going to do?

30 minutes later…

"I've made my decision."

Shadow looked up from staring at the fireplace, and turned to look at his son. "Well?"

_T.B.C._

…JUST KIDDING!

"I've decided…that I want to stay. I mean, I know I got used to being on the streets, but…I used to think that one day, I would find a family. Now that it's happened, I don't want to lose that now. I want to live here with you…dad."

Shadow's eyes widened in surprise. Did Sonic just…?

Before he knew it, Sonic was being hugged again. This time, though, he hugged back.

Their family bond had been rekindled.

_T.B.C._ (for real this time)

lol I couldn't resist tricking you guys. Sorry. Also, sorry for the wait. It was a combination of writer's block, and being out of town again, this time for student orientation at SFASU. (Stephen F. Austin State University) Axe 'em Jacks!

How was this chapter? Love it, hate it? Leave a comment/review!

ShidesuHejjihoggu


	6. Chapter 6

*dodges tomatoes* Sorry, guys! I'm really starting to hate writer's block now, since it interfered with my other story as well. *sigh* Also, the site wouldn't let me upload the document.

Thanks for the reviews! I love the positive feedback!

Disclaimer: Don't own the characters, only the plot.

Chapter 6

"Ow! Dad, would you quit with the antiseptic already?!" Sonic complained. Currently, he was in the middle of getting the cut on his hand cleaned.

They hadn't left the den, as it had a first-aid kit stored in it.

"I'm just making sure it doesn't get infected," Shadow replied. He had Sonic's wrist in a firm grip to keep him from yanking his hand away. Sonic's tattered glove was on the floor.

"What's the point? I've never gotten sick!" he protested.

"Funny, I seem to recall you catching a lot of different ailments when you were a baby. Especially diaper rash." (1) He smirked when Sonic blushed and ducked his head in embarrassment.

"That doesn't count…" his son muttered.

"On the contrary, it does," the ebony hedgehog said as he fished out the roll of bandages from the first-aid kit.

Sonic looked up when he saw them in his peripheral vision, and he gave a dramatic sigh of relief. "Finally, this torture is almost over!"

Shadow raised an eyebrow as he wrapped the bandages around Sonic's palm. "You've been in a neglectful orphanage, albeit for a few days, and lived on the streets for 2 years, yet you consider this torture?"

"No, I'm just trying to work on my acting."

"I'm sure you were, son," Shadow replied, ignoring the sarcasm he plainly heard in his son's voice. He finished wrapping his son's hand and started putting the medical supplies away.

Sonic grinned. It may have only been a few hours since he'd been reunited with his father, but he was already feeling the old, yet familiar feeling of contentment.

"Who knows? Maybe I could become an actor someday."

Shadow chuckled. "Yes, you could, but you'll have to work hard at it. And go to acting school."

Sonic looked at him with disbelief. "What?! I'd have to go to _school_ to be an actor?" he exclaimed, practically spiting out the word _school_ as if it left a bad taste in his mouth.

"You'd have to go to school for anything."

"Damn."

Shadow's eyes narrowed, but he didn't say anything about the vulgar language. Sonic must've noticed either way, because he suddenly looked sheepish, but also a little annoyed.

It was going to take a while for the both of them to get re-used to this.

The seconds ticked by with neither of them speaking, unsure of what to say. It was quiet, except for the soft ticking of the clock above the fireplace and the drumming of Sonic's fingers on the arm rest of the chair he was sitting in.

Biting back a yawn, Sonic continued to drum his fingers.

"You're tired. You should get some rest," Shadow said softly.

Sonic gave a half-shrug, then he grabbed his glove and put it back on. "Alright." Before standing up on the chair and jumping off, doing a couple of flips in the air before landing in the doorway the way a gymnast would.

He didn't get a chance to take a step out of the room before his wrist was once again in the grip of his father, this time gently. He turned his head to look at Shadow.

"Dad, what gives?"

"I said you should rest, but I didn't say you could _right now_. What you _should_ do is get some food into your stomach first." Again, Shadow was speaking softly.

"I don't want soup. And from what I remember, you used to be a terrible cook."

"A lot can change in 9 years." There was a hint of sadness in his father's voice and eyes, and Sonic noticed. He looked away, sadness in his own dual-colored eyes.

"I know…"

"Will you at least try the soup?"

"Why can't I have something other than soup?"

"You might vomit it back up if it's too rich, and I'm sure you don't want that."

"…You're right, I don't, but does it have to be soup?"

"Yes, it does."

After a few moments of thought, Sonic sighed and gave in. "Alright, fine."

"Come along, then," Shadow said, letting go of his son's wrist and leading him back to the kitchen. Sonic followed.

10 minutes later…

As hungry as Sonic was, he still wasn't happy with the idea of having to eat bland foods for a few weeks.

In front of him was another bowl of soup, freshly made.

He was still somewhat convinced that his dad was a bad cook, so instead of eating it, he was merely swirling the spoon around.

"It's not poison, Sonic."

"That remains to be seen, dad."

"If you must know, when I wasn't searching for you, I was travelling the world. I learned many recipies, including that soup."

"When exactly were you not searching for me?"

"3 days every month."

"Not much of a vacation if it's only three days."

"Not necessarily. 9 years is 108 months, and 3 days a month is 36 days per year, which means I had a total of 324 days of vacation out of 1095 days."

Sonic stopped swirling the spoon, a thoughtful, concentrating look on his face. He was obviously trying to do the math in his head.

"Sonic."

He didn't get a reaction. He hadn't expected one.

"Sonic!" he shouted.

He still didn't get a reaction. He decided to go with another tactic and punched the table as hard as he could without breaking it. Somehow, the soup didn't spill a drop. It didn't even shake.

_That_ snapped him out of it. Actually, it startled him so much he fell out of the chair. His head hit the floor with a loud _'CRACK!'_ and he promptly yelled out in pain. Fortunately, or in his case, unfortunately, he wasn't knocked unconscious or bleeding, but there was a rather large bump on the right side of his head, near one of the 3 quills that had a red streak like Shadow's quills did.

Shadow nearly knocked over the chair, and the table plus the bowl of soup rushing to his son.

"Sonic are you alright?!" His voice was full concern, and his heart full of guilt.

"Head hurts…feel tired…" he mumbled, eyelids drooping.

'Concussion. I need to keep him awake,' Shadow thought. Quickly, he got a bag of ice and gently held it to the swollen bump. "Try to stay awake, son."

"Cold…"

"It'll help ease the swelling and the pain. Stay awake," he repeated. He noticed that the sunglasses his son was so fond of had fallen off.

"It's hard…" he mumbled softer.

"I know it is. I'm going to ask some questions to keep you awake, okay?"

"Don't…wanna answer…tired…"

"Can you tell me your name?" Shadow knew that sometimes concussions could cause memory loss, so he asked basic questions.

"S'nic…"

"My name?"

"Sh'dow…"

"How long did you stay at the orphanage?"

"Few…days…"

"Then what?"

"'scaped…lived on…streets after that…"

"How did you find out I was your father?"

"Knock'd over picture…saw resem'lance…"

"How old are you?"

"'M gonna be…15 in…couple weeks"

'Good, there isn't any damage if his memory's intact. Still need to keep him awake.' "Is the ice helping?"

"Little bit"

"Try to stay awake a little longer, alright?"

Sonic only muttered something incoherent.

Shadow sighed. 'I need to find another way of keeping him up. Wait a minute, that's it!' Still holding the bag of ice to the bump, he carefully stood up and picked up the bowl of soup, which still hadn't spilled anything, and set it down next to his son before kneeling back down himself.

"I need you to stay awake for this, Sonic, so you won't choke."

"Don't want it…"

"You need to eat something, Sonic." He was strongly reminded of when Sonic was a fussy, picky toddler who didn't want to eat. 'This should be interesting for the both of us.'

"No"

Shadow took the opportunity of sticking a spoonful of soup into Sonic's open mouth, making sure the navy teen didn't choke on it. Seeing that his son hadn't swallowed, he massaged his throat until he did.

"Cheater…" It wasn't really surprising that Sonic managed to glare even in his state.

"The quicker you eat, the quicker you get to go to sleep later."

"I thought you…didn't want me…to sleep"

"That's why I said later," Shadow explained, holding up another spoonful.

"I can…feed myself," he insisted, sitting up. Unfortunately, he sat up too quickly, which caused him to become really dizzy.

Placing the spoon back into the bowl, he steadied his disoriented son. "You can't even sit up without being dizzy. Let me do this for you."

Sonic could tell his father was feeling bad about indirectly causing all this, and it was an accident, so he complied and gave a slight nod.

Shadow continued to spoon-feed his son until the bowl was still was 3/4 full and Sonic was struggling to stay awake.

"Can you eat anymore? Or stay awake?"

The only response he got was Sonic leaning against him, already asleep. 'He does need his sleep, but he might slip into a coma due to the concussion.'

Deciding to let his son rest, and silently vowing to keep an eye on him, he picked Sonic up before standing up and exiting the kitchen.

Instead of taking Sonic to the room he had prepared for him months earlier, as he redecorated it to fit his son's age over the years, he took him to his own bedroom. Almost everything was either a dark blue color, or black.

After setting Sonic down on the bed, he turned to get a wooden chair, only to find that his arm was currently being held hostage by his son. Shadow sighed and tried to get his arm free without waking Sonic. Nothing he tried worked, so he just remained standing. 'And here I thought teenagers were supposed to resent their parents,' he thought.

It was going to be a long night.

_T.B.C._

So, how was it? This chapter was just to have them bond some more, though as you can see, most it happened due to Sonic being hurt.

(1)- Shadow just needed something to get Sonic to shut up, but as to whether or not it's really true, I haven't decided yet.

Another little note: Fanart. If anyone would like to draw either Sonic or any of the scenes from this story, you're free to do it. I would do it, but I can't draw Sonic very well. I can draw Shadow pretty good, but I always have trouble with Sonic's quills…

Just remember that Sonic is navy blue instead of cobalt, has a ruby eye along with his regular emerald colored eye, wears sunglasses to cover his dual-colored eyes, and has 3 red streaks in his quills, one on the top quill, and the other two are on the two side quills at the bottom of his head. In my head, Sonic has 6 quills like it shows in the games when viewing him from behind. His gloves and shoes are the same way they've always been, just tattered due to his living on the streets.

Leave a review/comment to tell me how I did!

ShidesuHejjihoggu


	7. Chapter 7

Hello, fanfiction readers! You guys ready for another chapter of "Family"?! Wait, why the hell do I sound like the way a leader of a band sounds like before a concert starts? lol.

Thanks for the reviews, guys! They really make my day! Now, I think I will start responding to the reviews.

: It wasn't child abuse! Shadow had hit the _TABLE!_ He didn't hit Sonic! Plus, he didn't expect Sonic to fall out of the chair and hit his head on the floor. Who would?

**KeizerGodzilla**: Thanks! I'm glad you like the "homie" atmosphere I have set. What's wrong with Yaoi? I like it, even though this story won't ever be Yaoi.

**IluzSilverShadow**: Sorry if I made you wait! I know how it feels to want to do something, but you don't have enough skill at it.

…Well, that's it. :( Only three reviews. Oh, well. I'm sure I'll get more as the story progresses. :)

Disclaimer: How many times must we go through this? I ONLY OWN THE STORY!

Chapter 7

It was hard for Sonic to wake up the next day, partly because of the concussion he suffered, and partly due to the fact that he didn't want to. The bed was comfortable. Sadly, all things must come to an end, so he wearily opened his eyes. His first thought of the day was, 'Where the hell am I?'

"I'm glad to see you're awake, son."

Shadow couldn't help chuckling when all Sonic did was turn his head so that his face was buried in the pillow. Even when he had been a child with seemingly boundless energy, Sonic had never been a morning person.

Using his other arm to gently shake his drowsy son, he said, "Come on, Sonic. It's already noon, and I need my arm back."

Sonic's ear twitched, and a muffled "Wha?" could be heard. Turning his head slightly so that he was facing his father again, revealing the ruby eye, he saw that he had been snuggling Shadow's arm the whole time he was asleep. Looking utterly confused about how that had happened, and embarrassed about the situation in general, he hastily let go.

Shadow rubbed his arm, stimulating some of the circulation he'd lost in it.

Sonic was still feeling pretty drowsy, so he was asleep again in 3 seconds.

Shadow didn't seem fazed by this at all. He smirked and left the room, knowing how to get a sleepy Sonic up and running.

Minutes later…

A familiar smell drifted through the house, and entered Sonic's nose, but his still tired brain didn't register it.

Until a few minutes later. His head shot off the pillow.

Was it really…? It couldn't be. But it was.

_Chillidogs_… (1)

Already drooling, he burst out of the room and was down in the kitchen in a matter of seconds.

There it was. A plate covered with around 20 steamy chillidogs.

His stomach rumbled. Looking around, he saw no sign of Shadow, and dashed to the plate. He was just about to grab one, but then the whole plate was snatched away. He stopped just in time to keep from colliding with the table.

"Not so fast, Sonic."

Needless to say, Sonic was really peeved. He glared at his father and tried to grab the plate from him, but Shadow kept it out of his reach.

"Give me those!"

"Not yet. I will eventually, but not now."

Sonic, getting tired of the Keep Away game, suddenly got an idea, glanced at the window and yelled "Burglar!"

Shadow, falling for the bait, turned towards the window. Seizing the opportunity, Sonic grabbed the plate and ran out of there before Shadow could realize he'd been tricked. When he did realize it, he gave chase.

Sonic, already hidden back on the balcony, was blissfully eating. He knew he probably shouldn't, he'd eaten 4 and already his stomach was trying to reject them, but he fought the nausea down.

He was able to eat 3 more before he had to put the plate down to concentrate on keeping the food down. It wasn't that hard, really. There were times when he had eaten food that had slightly rotten, so he had to really fight the urge to vomit.

It took longer than he expected for him to fight it, but he supposed that having a weak stomach would do that after forcing down food that hadn't been plain and bland.

When his nausea passed, he looked up at the sky. He started daydreaming as he watched the clouds, and he didn't notice Shadow's shadow (2) looming over him, until he heard the sharp whistle behind him. He snapped out of his daydreaming and turned his head so quickly you could hear a bone crack.

There was Shadow, arms folded, glaring at him.

Sonic had no idea what to say about this predicament, so he stayed silent.

"I've been trying to get your attention for the past 5 minutes."

"Y-you have?" He winced when he heard his voice rise to an unnatural pitch due to fear. Whenever he got caught stealing back on the streets, and he ended up tripping over something, which was rare, it usually ended with the owner beating him when they saw his eyes. After a few times of it, he learned to be stealthier, and he sometimes had to resort to trickery as a distraction like he did earlier.

Shadow could tell his son was afraid, and fully looking at him, he noticed that Sonic looked like a puppy about to be beaten. (3) His gaze softened. "I have. I wasn't sure how else to get your attention. Sorry if I scared you."

Sonic realized that Shadow's apology was also referring to the night before. "It's okay," he replied quietly. "I should've been paying attention, anyway."

"Yes, you probably should have." Eyeing the plate, he saw that only 13 chillidogs were left. 'Odd, I thought he would've eaten them all in nothing flat,' Shadow thought. 'Well, it's a good thing he didn't, his stomach wouldn't have handled it very well.'

Noticing that his dad was looking at the plate, Sonic swallowed hard, mostly due to fear, but also because his stomach was still being a little rebellious.

Shadow reached down to pick up the plate. "I'm going to put these up. Come along if you want." And with that, he left the balcony.

Sonic wasn't sure if he wanted to follow. He stood up, leaned against the wall, and mimicked his father's pose, only without the glare. He was looking at the sky again, silently asking himself what to do.

He stood there for at least 15 minutes before he started to nod off. He was almost fully asleep when he heard near-silent footsteps. 'Huh, no wonder I didn't hear him before. He's like a ninja, being that silent,' he thought. Turning his head in the direction of the footsteps, he saw Shadow walking towards him.

Shadow was mildly surprised when Sonic looked at him. It wasn't like he was planning on scaring his son again, he noticed that Sonic was about to drift off to sleep, so he had walked quietly enough so he _wouldn't_ startle his son.

Not bothering to stifle a yawn, Sonic gave a small wave in greeting. He didn't even notice that Shadow was holding his sunglasses.

"I thought you would've wanted these back. I remembered they were on the floor," Shadow said, holding them up.

Sonic's dual-colored eyes widened. How did he not notice he wasn't wearing them? He didn't like people staring at his eyes, because they usually hated him after. He started to reach for them, but stopped. Did he really want them back? He'd grown used to hiding his eyes behind them. Shadow never seemed to care, but maybe that was just because they were related.

Shadow could see the indecision and hesitation in his son's eyes. In fact, he had always been able to tell what Sonic was feeling just by looking in his eyes. Did Sonic think he needed to hide his emotions behind the shades?

Different thoughts went through the two hedgies' minds. Minutes passed. Then an hour. Finally, Sonic took the pair of shades, but instead of putting them on, he looked at them for a few moments before throwing them off the balcony.

"I'm not going to hide anymore," he declared, his eyes shining with determination, almost as if he knew what his father had been thinking.

(A/N: cue the music from the end of "The Lion King"! lol)

Shadow had never felt prouder.

_T.B.C._

Yay, another chapter that has a happy ending! About that little comment at the end I put in there about the LK music, it was actually playing in my head as I typed that scene. I have all three LK movies, and know the scripts by heart, yet I haven't seen them in years. ^_^'

(1)- Yes, even in this AU, Sonic still has that obsession with chillidogs. Which Shadow can use against him!

(2)- I am _not_ referring to Mephilles!

(3)- I made a little reference to my other story. If you haven't read it, please do so!

Anyways, how did you guys like this chapter? Did it live up to expectations?

Leave a review/comment!

ShidesuHejjihoggu


	8. Chapter 8

Who's ready for another chapter? :) Writer's block sucks. :( I think it's easier to write chapters for my other story. Does that make sadistic? Yes. Yes it does. At least I think so.

**anime2videogames**: glad you like the story

: I already told you. IT WASN'T CHILD ABUSE, SO LAY OFF! …I'm not going to comment about Chuck Norris.

**KeizerGodzilla**: um…I have no comment, except for this: I've already said I respect your opinion.

**HyperShanic01**: I had the feeling you would like that. Why did you say that Shadow being a ninja is "itself a feat"? Shadow could be a great ninja. He's quiet, and he can blend into the darkness around him, so he could be used for assassination.

Well, hope you guys like this next chapter!

Disclaimer: I don't own the characters, only the story.

Chapter 8

It was past midnight, and Sonic couldn't sleep. He was in his own bedroom this time, which almost looked the same as his father's, except everything blue was a shade lighter. It was also on the other side of the hall from his father's room.

'I wonder if dad would notice I was gone if I were to go outside to gat some air. Ah, he's asleep, what are the odds of him noticing?'

Getting out from under the covers, he was about to run outside, but remembering his little feat of using Chaos Control, he decided to do that instead. Closing his eyes, he envisioned himself outside the house, and he felt some kind of energy flowing through him. When he could smell the fresh air, he opened his eyes and saw it worked. 'Hehe, cool.'

He wasn't going to go anywhere far, just run around for a while. He ran and ran, until he noticed it was already sunrise. "Holy shit. I didn't realize how long I'd been running. Better get back," he muttered to himself before using Chaos Control to get back to his room.

Slipping back under the covers, he managed to feign sleep for about 30 minutes before his father knocked on the door. "Are you awake?" his already quiet voice came through it before he opened the door to look in on his son. It was then that he noticed Sonic's shoes, which had been carelessly kicked off, had fresh dirt on them. 'That's strange,' he thought, growing a little suspicious.

Making sure to sound as tired as he possibly could, he replied, "Sorta."

"Well, breakfast will be ready in a few minutes. If you don't come down, I'll know you're still asleep, so I'll save something for you," Shadow said, going back out and closing the door.

His stomach growled. Sonic now had to decide whether to get up or not. Sighing slightly, he sat up, running his hand through his quills to smooth them out from the short time he'd been in bed.

He didn't bother putting his shoes back on. After walking out of his room to the stairs, he decided to have a little more fun. He got on the railing, and promptly slid down on it. Of course, it was short lived as the abrupt ending caused him to land on his stomach before involuntarily doing a series of somersaults. He managed to stop right when his head was just millimeters from hitting the wall. "That was close…"

"I agree."

Somehow, Sonic had known Shadow was going to come, even if he didn't hear his footsteps this time. As he picked himself up from the floor, he gave his father a slightly sheepish grin. "Uh, good morning?"

"Is there a reason as to why you slid down the banister?"

"Yes. I didn't want to take the stairs. So, what's for breakfast?" he asked, completely changing the subject, peeking into the kitchen.

Shadow, however, wasn't going to be distracted again so easily. "What happened to your shoes?"

Sonic nearly panicked. 'Shit, I should've made sure there wasn't any dirt on them!' "I didn't feel like wearing them."

'So you say,' Shadow thought. He saw the brief flicker of panic in his son's eyes. He thought nothing of the fact that Sonic was lying, though, seeing as he had also done it himself a couple days earlier, and he knew that he would find out eventually.

"So, what _is_ for breakfast?" Sonic repeated, his stomach growling again.

"I'm having a light breakfast, just toast and fruit."

"What kind of fruit?" Sonic immediately asked. There was really only one kind of fruit he ate.

Shadow smiled. "You didn't really think I wouldn't remember your favorite fruit, did you?"

"Well…maybe!" Sonic said, before racing past his father, ignoring the fact that without his shoes, the friction of his speed would burn his feet.

"Don't eat them all at once," his father called after him.

Since Sonic was already eating, he didn't give a response. Ever since he was little, he liked to put as many blueberries as he could onto a piece of toast before eating it.

'Maybe he hasn't changed _too_ much over the years. By now, he probably has blueberry juice around his mouth,' Shadow mused, entering the kitchen as well.

Sure enough, Sonic did have a ring of blueberry around his mouth…as well as on his hands, and somehow his forehead. He'd only eaten 3 pieces of toast before seeing his father walk in. He rubbed the back of his head in embarrassment, only to get his hand stuck. He tried to get it unstuck, but to no avail.

"Why don't you go clean up?"

"Fine…" Sonic jumped off the chair, and head upstairs to the bathroom to shower, still trying to get his hand unstuck along the way.

Glancing at the table, Shadow noticed that there was blueberry juice all over the area that Sonic had been eating at. 'Looks like he _hasn't_ changed a lot over the years. Who'd have thought?'

Roughly 15 minutes later, Sonic came back down, slightly damp, and water was still dripping from his quills, but nonetheless clean.

When he saw that most of the table, and floor, was still covered in blueberry, he looked at his father. "…I gotta clean that up, don't I?"

"Yeah, you do."

Sonic was a little annoyed. "Why?"

"You made the mess, therefore it's your responsibility to clean it up."

Sonic rolled his eyes, but he grabbed a dish towel, wet it in the sink, then started to clean up the mashed blueberries. Though, as he was cleaning, he started to feel the effects of staying up all night. Luckily, he managed to clean it all up before he slumped, asleep before Shadow caught him to prevent any more head trauma.

"Sonic?" Shadow grew worried when he didn't get a response. 'What happened?' He thought of any possible thing that could've caused this, but then he noticed the deep, even breathing. 'He fell asleep?'

Sighing, he carried his son back up to his room. Again, he noticed the dirt on the bottom of Sonic's shoes. Glancing between his son and the shoes, it only took a second before it clicked. He mentally facepalmed. How could he have forgotten? Whenever Sonic was younger and couldn't sleep, he'd run around to burn off the excess energy. Four times a week, he would find his son sprawled out on the floor.

Sighing again, he set Sonic down on his bed and tucked him in. He managed to back away before Sonic could grab his arm again. Though, immediately afterwards, he felt a pang of guilt, especially after seeing his son frown and move his hands around the way a child would whenever their favorite stuffed toy fell to the floor during the night.

In this case, it wasn't a stuffed toy.

He suddenly had an idea, wondering how Sonic would react when he woke up later. Chaos Controlling to he storage room, he searched through the piles of Sonic's various childhood items that he had managed to salvage after the fire. After a few minutes, he found what he was looking for. It was a stuffed replica of a neutral speed Chao that, ironically, almost looked like Sonic. Sonic had always wanted a speed Chao, and had appropriately named the stuffed one "Speedy".

He Chaos Controlled back to his son's room, and placed Speedy near Sonic's still searching hands. It was an instant reaction. As soon as he felt the soft plush, Sonic grabbed Speedy and held him close.

Shadow smiled at the scene. Leaving his son to get some sleep, he went down to the den to read.

Later…

Dual-colored eyes opened, and Sonic found himself in his room. 'When did I get here? Did I fall asleep? Wait a minute, what am I-' "Speedy?" he whispered. It had to be a hallucination. It had been so long since he'd seen the Chao plush. He thought it had been destroyed in the fire. Clutching the stuffed Chao close to his chest, he got up and went to look for Shadow.

He thought his father would be in the den, so he looked there first. Of course, before he even entered, he hid Speedy behind his back. "Dad?"

Shadow looked up from reading an extremely long book. "I was wondering when you would wake up."

"Why, what time is it?"

"8:45. You've been asleep for almost 12 hours."

Sonic blinked in surprise. "Seriously?"

"Yes, seriously. What are you hiding behind your back?"

If that wasn't the most random thing to ask, he didn't know what was. "Uh…nothing?"

Shadow hid a knowing smirk. "Then show me you're other hand."

Acting quickly, Sonic switched hands, now holding Speedy with his left hand instead of his right. "Nothing in this hand, either."

"Well, then, show me both hands."

Somehow Sonic managed to balance Speedy on his tail before showing both hands at once.

'He's clever, I'll give him that. He really doesn't want me to know he's carrying Speedy.'

"So, you're sure there's nothing behind your back?"

"Positive!"

Shadow wasn't fooled. He could see a small part of Speedy sticking out from behind Sonic's back.

Seeing that his father wasn't convinced, Sonic sighed. "Alright, fine. I _am_ hiding something behind my back. I'm not sure how, but" he took Speedy off his tail and showed him. "when I woke up, I found Speedy with me."

Shadow was still hiding his knowing smirk. "Did you now?"

'Why is he acting like…? He knows?!' "You know?!"

"Of course I know. I was the one who put him there."

"Huh? You did? Why?"

"Because while you were sleeping, you kept moving around searching for something to hold, and I didn't want my arms to be held captive again. Speaking of which, why did you suddenly collapse earlier?"

Sonic had enough grace to look sheepish. "I, uh…couldn't sleep last night, so I ran around outside. Though, when I finally stopped, it was dawn. How did you find Speedy?"

"When I heard about the fire, I went to the house to see if you were still there, but you were already taken away, so I went through the rubble and saved whatever I could. Speedy wasn't too badly damaged, but I still found someone who could fix him."

Sonic stiffened at the mention of the fire. He'd lost so much because of it.

Seeing his son go rigid, Shadow regretted talking about the fire. Setting the book down, he stood up, walked over to his son, and pulled him into a comforting hug. Sonic leaned into it, and soon, his shoulders were shaking with silent sobs.

'He never got to properly grieve…' was the only thing that went through Shadow's mind, before he, too, started to shed tears.

They spent the rest of the night grieving the loss of a loved one…

_T.B.C._

Okay…I know there wasn't a lot in this chapter…I blame writer's block. But…more bonding! Technically…

Who else can imagine Sonic wanting to get a neutral speed Chao and naming it Speedy?

And, yes, Sonic's mom did die in a fire. More of what happened will be revealed soon.

Leave a comment/review!

ShidesuHejjihoggu


	9. Chapter 9

Who's ready for another chapter? Thanks for the reviews, guys! And sorry for the wait, writer's block won't go away.

**GenesisBlazingShadow**: Will you please quit talking about Chuck Norris? I have nothing against him, but for the last time, THE CONCUSSION WAS AN ACCIDENT! SHADOW DIDN'T INTEND FOR THAT TO HAPPEN!

**anime2videogames**: Glad you like the family relationship! I like writing it as much as you like reading it. ^_^

**IluvSilverShadow**: Yes, it was already answered, but don't feel bad for forgetting. I don't mind answering it again. Shadow heard about the fire after it had already been extinguished, and Sonic had just been taken to the orphanage by the time he got there.

**jorenmartijn**: Sorry if it seemed too mushy, I wasn't trying to do that, I just wanted a comforting scene. Sonic had his grief bottled up, because it was painful to think about. He never got to really grieve, and since he had no one to comfort him for the past 2 years, Shadow's hug made him realize that he _does_ have someone who cares about him. You didn't read incorrectly, but there is a reason why I did that. I will be reveal what happened in full detail soon.

Disclaimer: If I owned them, I wouldn't be writing fanfiction.

Chapter 9

By the time Sonic was done crying, it was 4:37 am. He felt emotionally drained, but he also felt like a weight had been lifted off his shoulders. His eyes were red and puffy from all of the tears he shed.

After a few more minutes, something finally seemed to click in to his brain. He pulled back from the comforting hug, obviously embarrassed about breaking down like that. Wiping away his own tears with a tattered glove, he clutched the stuffed Chao closer to his chest. "Sorry."

"There's no need to apologize," Shadow reasoned, not yet understanding why his son was apologizing.

Sonic almost laughed when he heard the slight confusion in Shadow's voice. It didn't seem like a good time to, but still, who knew his father could be so dense?

It took another few seconds for Shadow to finally understand, and when he did, he mentally slapped himself. "You haven't had anyone comfort you in a long time, have you?" They had already established Sonic's forced independence more than once, but this would confirm any more suspicions he had about just how hard life had been for his son.

Sonic's eyes hardened slightly as he shook his head, pushing more memories away. "There was no time to grieve. Everything changed too fast." He clutched Speedy tighter, nearly popping an eye, and his head off just by the sheer pressure.

"Calm down, son, before you end up killing Speedy," Shadow said, obviously trying to lighten Sonic's tense mood. He would've had better luck fixing a broken china pot with a sledgehammer, for Sonic glared at him, threw the stuffed Chao at him with impressive force, and Chaos Controlled out of the room.

After barely dodging the stuffed-toy-turned-missile, and making sure it didn't fly into the fireplace, Shadow sighed. He now knew that Sonic wouldn't want to confront his past, even if he _had_ talked a little about it just days earlier, but it would help his recovery.

Right now, there was just one objective on his mind: Finding Sonic.

He ran through the halls once again.

Meanwhile…

Sonic, instead of hiding in the house this time, was at the entrance of the nearby woods, punching a large tree.

Due to his tattered gloves, his knuckles were already bloody, but he didn't stop. He wouldn't stop.

No matter how hard he punched, his frustration wouldn't dissipate. What gave Shadow the right to ask about his past like that? He already told him enough!

Of course, the only mistake he made was not counting on the wasp's nest that was high up in the tree. After landing an extremely hard punch, the nest promptly fell and landed right in front of him.

He paled, and started running back to the house with the wasps chasing after him, forgetting that he could've used Chaos Control to get back.

When he got to the front door, he tried to open it, but it was locked. Still forgetting that he could just use Chaos Control, he started pounding on the door. "DAD, LET ME IN!" he shouted as loud as he could.

It wasn't until the wasps were 2 feet away from him that he finally remembered about Chaos Control. He quickly warped into the house. Leaning against the door, Sonic tried to calm his racing heart. His ears twitched as the wasps buzzed outside the door.

"I change my mind…_That_ was too close," Sonic muttered to himself.

"Sonic?" Shadow came running down the stairs, looking almost as panicked as he did.

For a minute, the two hedgehogs just looked at each other. Sonic was the first to break eye contact, still focused on calming down.

Shadow noticed his son's bloodied knuckles, and could also faintly hear buzzing. "What happened?"

Not wanting to fully explain, when Sonic looked up, all he said was, "Wasps."

Shadow just gave a look that clearly said "continue" but Sonic stayed silent.

Shadow went over to his son and started to check for any other injuries, but Sonic pushed him away. "Dad, I'm fine."

"I just want to make sure," Shadow said, concern evident in his voice.

"I already told you, I'm not a little kid." Seeing the pained look on Shadow's face, Sonic realized why he was being so persistent, and it made him become slightly annoyed, and somewhat guilty. 'He feels like he needs to make up for lost time, and I'm biting his head off about it.'

"I know you're not, but I can't stand the thought of you getting severely hurt. I've already lost you once; I don't want to risk it happening again."

Sonic, unsure of how to respond, sighed and closed his eyes.

"You know, you're not the only one who's knocked down a wasp's nest," Shadow said, smiling to himself at the memory.

This got Sonic's dual-colored eyes back open, and he looked at his father in surprise. "Really?"

"Yes, really. I was about your age, and I was dared to knock down a nest with a rock. It took a few hits, but I managed to do it."

"I never thought you would be willing to take a dare like that."

"It was either that or take the other dare of dyeing my streaks pink. Now, we've got to get those knuckles cleaned up."

Though he had a hard time containing his laughter when he imagined what his father would look like with pink streaks, Sonic rolled his eyes at the sudden change in topic, but he got up anyway. "Can't I clean them myself? _By_ myself?"

"If I let you, how will I know you'll do it?"

"How will you know I won't?" he retorted.

This was a good point, but… "Believe me, I'll know."

Sonic huffed again, "Fine…" before he started looking in various rooms for the medical kit.

He found it a while later, and, after removing his gloves, started the task of cleaning his bloody knuckles. Once he was done, he wrapped them with the gauze, but he didn't bother putting his gloves back on.

Shadow was watching from the doorway, making sure his son was actually cleaning his wounds. The moment Sonic finished, Shadow was about to Chaos Control back to the door, but he decided not to. He wasn't going to startle his son, _again_, but instead he wanted Sonic to realize he was there himself.

Sonic could see his dad standing at the doorway in his peripheral vision. Grinning like a madman, he grabbed the large roll of bandages. Faster than anyone could blink, he wrapped Shadow's entire body with them. He now looked like he was in a cocoon, and with one little nudge, he fell to the floor.

Sonic, for reasons unknown to his father, decided to do a little pose which included placing a foot on his father's back and holding an imaginary sword in the air.

"Do you mind telling me why you did this?" Shadow asked.

Sonic simply grinned. "I just thought it would be funny," he replied.

His grin faltered when Shadow glared at him. "Alright, fine, I'll get them off."

"No need to." Shadow started to tense every muscle in his body, which caused the bandages to stretch, then he relaxed his muscles. The bandages had become loose now, so he was able to wriggle his way out of them.

This shocked, surprised, and impressed Sonic, who had backed away to give his father room. "Whoa. Where'd you learn that?"

"It's something I learned on my travels."

Sonic thought back to the conversation they had in the kitchen, and remembered the time his father had spent taking a break from his searching. He almost started doing the math in his head again, but then he didn't feel like it.

He was about to ask if he could learn it, but since it would involve him getting tied up, he decided against it.

Shadow saw that Sonic was deep in thought, and left the younger hedgehog to his thoughts.

Sometime later…

Sonic woke with a start. As he looked around, he realized that he had fallen asleep standing up. 'When did that happen?' he thought.

Though he still felt tired, he didn't feel like going to his bedroom, so he wandered the halls of the house.

When Sonic came across the storage room, he wondered what else was in there. He'd check later. 'Or, if Dad's asleep, I can see what else is in here without him knowing right now,' he thought. Looking around to make sure he wouldn't get caught, he then used Chaos Control to get into the room. He would've used the pocket knife, but it would've taken him longer to get inside, and he wasn't even sure if the door was still locked.

It took a few minutes for his eyes to adjust to the darkness, and once they did, he rummaged through the piles. He found a few more things from his childhood, though he didn't really care at the moment, for underneath the pile, he found a gem. It was emerald colored, and seemed to give off some kind of energy. 'I wonder what this is for,' he thought as he picked it up. 'Ah, I'll ask later. In the meantime, I'll hide it.' He stuck the gem into his quills, making sure it wouldn't fall out.

Seeing nothing else interesting, Sonic Chaos Controlled to the den, where he last remembered leaving Speedy. It seemed childish to want to go back for the plush, but he didn't really care. Finding him on the arm chair, Sonic picked him up before stealthily running up to his room. Feeling more tired than he did earlier, he flopped down onto his bed and was asleep before his head hot the pillow, with the hand carrying Speedy hanging over the edge.

_T.B.C._

Why do I usually have my characters sleep? Probably because I can't think of anything else for them to do at the moment. Oh, well. If this chapter sucked, blame writer's block.

The whole "falling-asleep-while-standing" thing hasn't happened to me, but my brother's done that a few times.

And yes, Sonic found a Chaos Emerald. I haven't thought of what to do with it in the upcoming chapters yet, but I'll think of something.

Let me know how this chapter turned out. Leave a comment/review!

ShidesuHejjihoggu


	10. Chapter 10

Thanks for the reviews, guys! It's nice to see the positive feedback!

Sorry for the wait, I am busy with college and homework. I'll try to write as much as I can between and after classes, but writer's block STILL WON'T LEAVE ME ALONE. I did work on this during Labor Day weekend, so I got more of it written. Speaking of which, how was everyone's weekend? Too short?

**anime2videogames**: Thanks. You'll find out what else he finds. I'm in college now…so I'll have less time to write. Damn.

**GenesisBlazingShadow**: I KNOW IT'S LACKING CONTENT! IT'S BECAUSE OF THE WRITER'S BLOCK! *deep breaths* Yes, things are going to get interesting.

**KeizerGodzilla**: I could…and I'm not sure about Eggman, but I do have an idea for Knuckles. He appears in this chapter.

**IluvSilverShadow**: Shadow's my favorite character, but I still couldn't resist him saying that he could either knock down a wasp's nest or dye his streaks pink. I laughed when I got the mental image of that. Whoops, didn't mean to bring up that memory. Sorry. ^_^'

**jorenmartijn**: Thanks! I laughed writing that part. "Shadow's Partner"? I've read it! Three times! It's an awesome story! It actually inspired me to write this one. Well, that, and the dream I had. Ah, it's okay. At least it cleared things up for you. You'll see what happens with the Emerald. ;)

**Note**: I did a timeskip this chapter. There won't be as much tension between Sonic and Shadow whenever Sonic's past is brought up, but it's still there…

Disclaimer: I only own the plot. Characters belong to SEGA

Chapter 10

7 months later…

It was official. Sonic hated school. He still planned to try and become an actor, so his dad managed to convince him to start at the high school in one of the nearby cities, but first he had to do all the make up work before he could be admitted. Somehow, he had managed to make up two years of missed school work in the past few months, mostly because he had nothing better to do.

So why does he hate school? He was in the principal's office for the 8th time that week, and he'd only been at the school for three days.

'I'm really starting to hate this place…especially that one kid, Knuckles.'

Currently, Sonic had a black eye, a cut lip, and some bruises from the most recent fight.

It was worth it, though.

The door opened to reveal a miffed looking Shadow. One look at Sonic was enough explanation. "Fighting again?"

"Unfortunately, yes. I've already spoken to Knuckles, and he claims your son attacked him for no reason."

'Why do they always talk like I'm not even here?' Sonic thought angrily. "I had a reason!"

Due to the coincidental fact that when the school was built several years ago, Shadow had provided most of the funds to help with the construction, and that they happened to know each other, the principal seemed understanding, and replied calmly, "If you have a reason, then why not tell us your side of the story?"

Sonic, although he had declared not to hide his eyes anymore, still felt uncomfortable with people seeing them, so every time he went to the principal's office, and his classes, he kept his head down so no one would see. How Knuckles found out, he wanted to know.

He sighed, and lifted his head up. The principal didn't look surprised. "He makes snide remarks about my eyes, and it reminds me of my past, so I just…" He trailed off, clenching his fist.

Besides Shadow and the principal, no one else knew about Sonic's past. They both looked at him with concern. This only aggravated Sonic more, but when he spoke, his voice was near emotionless. "Look, if you're going to expel me, go ahead. I don't care." Shadow, growing even more concerned, even though he now knew the reason behind the fights, placed a comforting hand on his son's shoulder.

There was a brief silence, then, "Given the circumstances, I see no reason for expulsion. I see that this has been stressful for you, so instead, you may rest at home until you are ready to come back."

'At least someone gives a damn. Besides Dad, that is,' Sonic thought. "Fine. Can we go now?" He didn't miss the piercing look Shadow gave him, but he ignored it.

"Yes, you can. I'll tell your teachers you'll be gone for a while, and I'll make sure you won't have to make up any work you miss."

That eased most of Sonic's tension, and it was noticed by the other two occupants of the room. "Alright." With that, he stood up and left the room.

Shadow, however, hadn't stood up. "I'm starting to wonder if it was a good idea to have him come so soon…" he said, sighing.

"You thought you were doing the right thing. Sure, some of the other students are antagonizing him, but I can tell he tries his best to ignore the first couple of insults."

"Still, maybe I should've waited until he was comfortable about his past before putting him in this sort of environment."

"Would it have helped? From what you told me, he was hated by everyone who had even got a glimpse of his eyes. What would've made this any different from that? It probably would've helped him confront his past."

"If I had known what was going to happen, I wouldn't have pressured him to come."

"From what I've seen, he thought he could handle it on his own. He didn't want to bother you with it."

That didn't go too well for Shadow. He sighed again, closing his eyes.

Unknown to them, Sonic had been listening to the conversation by hiding next to the doorway. He did feel bad about not telling his dad about what was happening, but he _had_ thought he could handle this on his own, like he had everything else. Almost everything else.

He shook his head and shoved the memories aside for now, peeking through the doorway.

"Do you think it would've made a difference if I had managed to get him to tell me what was going on?"

"Who knows? I've seen a few kids with his type of personality, and they tend to keep things to themselves."

"I noticed."

'When are they going to stop talking about me? They did enough of that already,' Sonic thought, discreetly turning around.

"I seem to remember you being the same way for a while, Shadow."

'Wait, what?' Sonic swiftly and silently turned back around, still by the doorway, not having taken one step anyway.

"That was until I had gotten my memories back," Shadow said, quills bristling slightly. The year he had amnesia was not something he liked to think about.

'So that's where I got my irritability about the past from,' Sonic grinned, then it faded. His own memories were trying to push past his barriers, but he shoved them aside again.

'I guess that's one more thing we have in common,' they both thought simultaneously.

Momentarily forgetting that he was eavesdropping, Sonic sighed, loudly enough to be heard by the two occupants of the room. Realizing his mistake, he hid back behind the doorway.

Shadow turned towards the doorway and raised an eyebrow in what seemed like amusement.

"I know you're there, Sonic."

Sonic nearly gave into the impulse to shout "No, I'm not!" but he bit down on his tongue to keep himself from doing it. Bracing himself for anything, he walked back into the office.

"How long were you there, Sonic?" Shadow asked.

"A while," Sonic answered, trying to keep his voice and face neutral, but the fact that he'd been caught eavesdropping made him apprehensive.

Shadow noticed this, and gave his son a reassuring look. It seemed to help, but Sonic was still tense.

Looking at the albino bat that was his principal, Sonic saw an amused, knowing smile.

Shifting nervously, Sonic averted his gaze away from either of them.

"You aren't going to be in more trouble for eavesdropping, Sonic. You were just waiting for the rest of the meeting to be over."

Sonic looked at the bat and cocked his head to the side with a questioning look on his face. "How do you know?"

"You remember how I used to be gone for days, or even weeks?" Shadow asked. "Well, I used to be a spy."

"A government spy?" Sonic asked, now looking at his dad.

"You could say the opposite. Instead of working for the government, I would spy on them. Gather information about their military's weaknesses and use that against them."

"Is that how you know her?" Sonic asked, inclining his head towards the albino bat, his tone suddenly cold.

'He would jump to that conclusion, seeing as anything could have happened,' Shadow thought.

"We've teamed up on a few missions," he said aloud.

"I can assure you, Sonic, that we were strictly teammates, nothing more," the principal added.

This slightly calmed Sonic down, but it was enough to quell any other suspicions.

Sonic looked at his dad again. "Are we leaving yet?" Part of him wanting to leave had to do with impatience, but he mainly wanted to get back at Knuckles for the insults.

"Well, we really have no more business here, so yes, we can leave," Shadow said, standing up. "We'll be back when he's ready to overcome this."

'I still have business here, dad, you just don't know it,' Sonic thought, suppressing a grin.

Both hedgehogs said their goodbyes, and thanks, to her before heading out of the principal's room.

They were near the front doors when a voice rang out.

"I knew that freak would get expelled. It was only a matter of time."

Sonic stopped in his tracks and turned around, giving the glare he had picked up from Shadow.

He stiffened. Not only was Knuckles there, but most of the student body was there as well. A bubble of panic started to rise in his chest. His eyes were visible to everyone!

Swallowing the panic down, Sonic answered emotionlessly, "For your information, _Knuckles_, I haven't been expelled. Instead, I get to relax at home for a few weeks, while you learn the same crap over and over again. Besides, your eyes are as freaky as mine. Whoever heard of someone having purple eyes?" He put emphasis on Knuckles' name to show his distain towards him.

Shadow could have intervened, but he realized that this was Sonic's fight, so after making brief eye contact with his son, he nodded as if saying "If you must, go ahead," before stepping to the side.

"Think you're better than the rest of us, huh? You're nothing but some street kid taken in because of pity."

Something in Sonic's mind snapped. He ran towards Knuckles and gave him an uppercut so hard he could've sworn he heard Knuckles' jaw break.

Unbeknownst to Sonic, his navy fur had darkened, and his emerald eye had shifted colors to match his ruby one, making him look nearly identical to Shadow.

Shadow tensed. 'How? The only way that can happen is…' He then noticed a small corner of the gem Sonic had found all those months ago sticking out of his quills, which were raised slightly. 'I have to get it away from him before he goes into the second stage! I'll need to distract him, though.'

It didn't stop at just one punch. Using his speed, Sonic literally punched and kicked Knuckles all across the hallway. Needless to say, Knuckles did not look pretty.

The other students, who had pressed up against walls to avoid being hit by the projectile that was Knuckles, were in shock. The same thought went through all their minds: 'Do _not_ piss him off.'

Finally, Sonic stopped the merciless beating, but he was now choking the battered echidna.

"THAT'S ENOUGH, SONIC!" Shadow yelled.

Sonic turned to look at Shadow. The pupils in his eyes were already starting to fade, though the irises weren't, and his fur had darkened more, but something flickered in them.

Dropping the echidna, who was now unconscious due to both his injuries and lack of oxygen, Sonic floated over to Shadow. After seeming to survey him for a few moments, recognition sparked into his eyes, before Sonic went back to normal. The sudden drain of power caused him to drop to his knees.

Sonic shook his head, and rubbed his forehead to clear the dizzy spell that came over him. In doing so, the gem fell out of his quills, and landed with a clatter, but he didn't notice.

Shadow did, however, and swiftly picked it up. "Are you alright, son?"

"Dad? What happened?" he asked quietly.

"I can't say. Not here, not now."

Sonic glanced at the rest of the students. A few of them had already taken Knuckles to the infirmary, so Sonic didn't see him. Those remaining had stunned, almost fearful looks, and Sonic grew worried.

Shadow noticed this, and placed a comforting hand on his son's shoulder before squeezing it gently in a reassuring way.

Some of his memories got through the barrier so, unconsciously scooting away from the gaze of the other kids, towards his dad, Sonic whispered, "Dad, can we go home now?" There was fear, pure fear, in his voice.

Shadow, in truth, had never seen nor heard his son sound so scared, not even after a nightmare.

After squeezing Sonic's shoulder reassuringly again, Shadow Chaos Controlled the two of them home.

Once there, Sonic did his best to keep from losing control of his emotions. Again.

Shadow pulled his son into a one-armed hug, offering as much comfort as he could.

Sonic wasn't sure if he should pull away or lean into the hug, so he made no movement. It didn't mean he was ungrateful.

It took a few minutes, but Sonic was able to calm himself down.

"Are you alright?"

"I…I think so. What happened, dad? The last thing I remember was…what Knuckles said. And feeling this rush of power."

"You reacted badly to what he said, son. By use of this," Shadow explained, holding up the gem.

Sonic blinked when he saw it. "I forgot I had that. What is it?"

"It's called a Chaos Emerald. It holds immense power, both positive and negative. It is said that whoever collects all seven will become temporarily invincible."

Sonic, who had been listening with rapt attention, was now looking at the Emerald with awe. He reached for it, but Shadow held it out of reach, giving him a mild glare.

Sonic glared back, but only for a second. "So, what's that got to do with me?" he asked.

"Well, you seem to be extremely sensitive to the Emerald's energies, especially the negative. That's why you reacted the way you did. Your anger drew out the negative energies of the Emerald."

Sonic grew worried and apprehensive again. "Then why don't I remember?"

"I think your mind reacted to the event by blocking out the memories. Personally, I find that a good thing."

"Was it that bad?"

"It was, and you didn't even reach the second stage."

Sonic's worry was replaced by confusion. "Second stage?"

"From what I know, those few who are sensitive to the negative energies of a Chaos Emerald will be affected in three stages. The first stage will make you more aggressive and will slightly change your appearance. It will also be harder to tell the difference between friend and foe. In the second stage, you'll lash out at just about anyone in your way, especially if you're focusing on one person. The pupils in your eyes will vanish, but your irises won't, giving you a more monstrous appearance. The third stage is by far the worst, and I mean that. You can no longer tell who is friend and who is foe, practically destroying anything in your path. In both mentality and appearance, you will truly be a monster."

It was a harsh truth, but Shadow felt like his son needed to know.

Sonic had paled significantly during the explanation, but at least he knew, to an extent, what had happened to him. He _had_ asked what happened.

"How…how did you get me to stop?"

"I pretty much yelled. I think you recognized my voice, because you stopped and came to me. Then, you studied me for a few seconds before realizing that I was someone you trusted, which was enough to get you to revert back to yourself."

Sonic was hesitant on asking his next question. "…Will this always happen?"

Shadow shook his head. "Only if you're near, or in possession of one of the Emeralds. That reminds me, how did you find this one?"

Sonic seemed to perk up. "That's an easy one. I went back to the storage room to see what else I could find, and I saw it under one of the piles. I was going to ask you about it, but it slipped my mind."

"Didn't I say that the storage room was off-limits?"

"Tch, well excuse me for thinking that that rule only applied until I knew who you really were, _Shadow_."

"Sonic…" Shadow warned, both in tone, and glare.

The two hedgehogs may have gotten closer over the months, but there were still times where Sonic insisted that he was independent, or something of the like. This often created power struggles between them.

Sonic glared back, and for an instant, the Chaos Emerald had darkened, and so had Sonic's fur. The brief blackout was enough to make Sonic's anger ebb away, and for Shadow to use Chaos Control to hide the Emerald somewhere he was sure Sonic wouldn't get to.

Shaking his head to clear the dizziness, Sonic realized just how close he had been to possibly attacking his father. He shut his eyes, trying not to think of what he had probably done to Knuckles.

A part of his mind thought that the echidna got what he deserved. He shook his head again. He needed to calm down.

"Sonic?"

Hearing the familiar voice was enough to make him open his eyes, and when he did, he realized that he could feel his body trembling slightly.

Shadow looked at his son with concern-filled eyes. Again, he pulled the navy colored hedgehog into a one-armed hug. This time, Sonic leaned into it, but just barely.

"You needn't worry about being affected again. I've hidden the Emerald in a safe place, where you can't get to it," Shadow soothed.

Sonic, for reasons unknown, even to himself, tried to joke by asking, "Under your bed?"

This was quickly followed by a sharp tug of his ear. "No time for jokes," Shadow gently scolded. "That was a nice attempt, though."

"Gee, thanks," Sonic replied sarcastically, rolling his eyes with a wry smirk. "You nearly rip my ear off, then tell me my attempted joke was good."

'He's starting to become more like me. I wonder if that's a good thing, or a bad thing,' Shadow thought.

Suddenly, Sonic felt his eyelids droop. The gain and drain of the Emerald's power was starting to have an effect on him.

"Tired?"

"Not really." Sonic tried to fight off his drowsiness. Given what had transpired earlier, if he fell asleep, there was a good chance that he would relive his memories in his dreams. Living them once was bad enough. Not that it hadn't happened before, but Sonic had the feeling it would be worse this time.

Shadow could tell that Sonic was trying to fight off sleep, and he also knew why. Nightmares were never pleasant.

"Dad?"

Breaking out of his thoughts, Shadow looked at his son. "Yes?"

Sonic fidgeted nervously. "You said that I only…um, transform when I'm around the Chaos Emerald. Did it happen before? Is that why you had it hidden in the first place?"

Shadow thought carefully before giving his response, so that he wouldn't upset or worry his son _too_ badly, though Sonic would probably insist that he could handle it. "You have only once before, and it was how I realized you were sensitive to the Emerald's energies."

"What did I do?"

"Well, you went on a slight rampage. You were still young, so you didn't do that much damage. Again, I was the only one who got you to revert back to yourself."

"How old?"

"You were around four-and-a-half. Like you had earlier, you found a Chaos Emerald, and you wouldn't let anyone near it. It was the same one I just hid for the second time. I tried to get it away from you, but eventually you started having a, for lack of better term, temper tantrum."

Once again, Sonic paled and trembled. On one hand, it was a good thing he didn't remember that. On the other, he had attacked his dad. The only person he had left in his life. Granted, it happened a long time ago, but Sonic didn't care. It had happened.

'Every time someone tries to help me, they end up getting hurt or killed…I guess I was meant to live by myself…who would want to live with someone like me?' were the thought running through Sonic's mind.

Shadow could practically feel his son's pain, guilt, and self-loathing. "I wasn't finished, son. Like I said, you didn't do a lot of damage. In fact, you preferred breaking things in the room rather than going after me. You flat-out ignored me, until I managed to get your attention. You looked like you were about to attack me, but instead, you recognized me before going limp."

'I didn't go after him? He said that I would go after the one who infuriates me enough to transform in the first place, so why…?'

Seeing the negative feelings turn into confusion, and still confused on the old situation himself, Shadow decided to elaborate as best as he could. "I think it has something to our familial bond. And our Chaos Energy."

"What does that have to with this?" The question was barely a whisper, but Shadow's keen ears still heard it.

Shadow took a couple of deep breaths, and Sonic could tell he was trying to compose himself. "The day you were born…you were nearly dead. The doctors tried everything to save you, but you weren't responding. They were about to give up, but then they felt that your mother and I at least deserved to see you. I saw you looking so lifeless…it nearly killed me. When I got to hold you, I held you as close as I could while you were in that state. When I did, I felt my Chaos Energy react, most likely in response to my emotions, and transfer into you. Slowly, you started to come around, and I knew you would live."

Whatever Sonic had been expecting, it certainly hadn't been that "So my Energy is really yours?"

"In a manner of speaking, yes. This could be why your transformations make you look like me, and why I'm the only one who can get you to revert back."

Sonic tried to digest the new information, but he was still feeling tired, and he couldn't quite grasp what he had heard.

"Look, it's still early. Why don't you get some rest?"

'Why do I suddenly feel like a toddler going to be put down for a nap?' Sonic thought. He shook his head. "I'm fine, dad. Really."

"Physically, yes, but not emotionally. This is starting to take its toll on you."

While under normal circumstances, Sonic would've argued, he knew his dad was right. He just didn't want to admit it.

Shadow chuckled. "You know I'm right, son. I can see it in your face."

"You can read facial expressions?"

"As well as body language."

"So I won't be able to get away with anything, will I?"

"You got away with hiding the Chaos Emerald, didn't you?"

"Yeah, but that was because I forgot I had it."

"You've gotten craftier, son."

"You'd find out about it eventually, though," Sonic pointed out.

"True, but I'm willing to bet that you'd find some way to get yourself out of trouble."

Sonic had a sly grin. "Yeah, you're right." He then adopted a look of concentration before snapping his fingers. In an instant, the now-becoming-familiar green Chaos Emerald appeared in his hand.

Shadow had felt the Chaos Energy drift towards the room where he had hidden the Emerald. "Where did you learn that?"

"I thought of it myself. Still haven't got a name for it, though. As long as I have a clear image of what item I want or need, it'll work."

"Impressive. I take it you can't put whatever item you have back?"

"Not it I don't know where I got the object from, although if I want to hide something, I can just use the same concept. I think you'll have to hide this again," Sonic added sheepishly, handing the Emerald to the ebony hedgehog.

Shadow took the Emerald from his son. "Just don't use it for the Chaos Emerald again."

"I won't."

Shadow promptly Chaos Controlled to a different room to hide the Emerald.

When he returned a few seconds later, he saw that his son had been close to drifting off, but had snapped his eyes open and shaken his head when he saw him.

"I'm awake."

"I bet you are," Shadow said with a small smirk. It then turned into a frown of concern. "You should really get some rest, son."

Sonic shook his head. "I said I'm fine," he replied, annoyance in his voice.

Shadow's eyes narrowed. Sonic clearly saw the warning look in them, but at the moment, he didn't really care. Fists clenched, Sonic stood up and opened his mouth to argue, but then a dizzy spell hit him. He lost his balance, but was swiftly caught by Shadow.

"This is why I said to rest," he said, almost all traces of anger gone "This is one of the after-effects of using the Emerald, voluntarily or not, since you're sensitive to its Energy."

"You could've said something earlier," Sonic accused.

"You didn't ask."

"What was I supposed to say? 'By the way, is there anything else I need to know about using a potentially dangerous jewel'?" There was another sharp tug on his ear, but it wasn't as hard as the last one.

"This is serious, Sonic. You need to rest. Unless you like feeling tired and dizzy all the time?"

"I don't," the navy teen admitted. "I thought you said this was serious. Why do you get to joke?"

"Who says I was joking?"

"I do."

A split second later, they were both in Sonic's bedroom. "Just get some rest," Shadow told his son.

The 15 year-old hedgehog looked like he was ready to argue again, but chose not to instead. Sonic simply nodded and trudged, as he was starting to feel really tired now, to his bed, with some help from Shadow.

As soon as Sonic felt the soft mattress, he fell asleep without getting to lie down properly. Shadow shook his head in exasperation, a small smile on his face. After hoisting up his son's legs, which were dangling off the side of the bed, and setting them down on the bed so that Sonic wouldn't fall off in the middle of the night, Shadow went out to run some errands. It was still early afternoon, and he was sure that his son would sleep peacefully until he got back.

How wrong he was.

Parts of Sonic's past were pushing through his mental barriers as he slept. He started tossing and turning in his sleep, a scowl on his face.

"_Stop, thief!" Sonic heard from behind him. He dashed off with the bread he managed to "borrow" from the bakery. It was only a day old, but it would be enough for a while._

_Of course, he didn't see the boxes in front of him, and crashed into them, causing his recently found sunglasses to fall off. 'Shit!'_

"_Hey, it's the weird-eyed freak! Get him!"_

_Sonic tried to get up as fast as possible, but one of his kneecaps was bruised from the crash._

_It was still not as bad compared to the beating he'd gotten._

_Luckily, he hid the bread so they wouldn't take it back from him. Once they were done tormenting him, and left, he painfully stood up and limped to the nearest unused alleyway, the 13 and a half year-old nibbling on the stale bread the whole way._

The dream shifted…

_There was smoke everywhere, so thick it was if he was looking at nothing but darkness. Coughing, covering his mouth with one hand to prevent smoke inhalation, Sonic crawled under the smoke._

_He could feel heat all around him, and he knew he needed to get out, but there was something he needed to do first._

_The smoke stung his eyes when he stood up, but he didn't care. Making his way out of his room, he went into his mom's room, barely avoiding a large chunk of burning wood that fell from the ceiling._

_He needed to get her out. She was still recovering._

_He was frustrated that the doctors couldn't figure out the name of the cancer she had, but at least they were trying different treatments._

_If anything, he thought it would've been better to die fighting it, then to die in this fire._

_He could hear weak coughing, so he hurried._

_Where were the firefighters?! They should've been here by now!_

"_Mom! I'm going to get you out of here!" he shouted, his voice muffled due to his covered mouth. The smoke and heat were rising in intensity, but he was able to make it to his mom's bedside._

_Through the thick smoke, he saw her nod._

_Gently, he helped her out of bed, and supported her as they both made their way to the front door, the house still collapsing all around them._

_Since she was still recovering from the recent treatment, they had to go slow, but they still tried to hurry. It still frustrated him that there still wasn't a name for the type of cancer she had._

_They were almost out of there when one of the support beams fell on top of her._

_He turned and tried to help her, only to have his arm grabbed and he found himself being dragged out of the house. Figures the fire brigade would get here late. "Come on, kid! You need to get out now!"_

_Sonic struggled against the grip, and glared at the fireman. "You don't understand! I have to go back for her!"_

_They guy didn't even loosen his grip, so he kicked him in the shin as hard as he could. It worked, and Sonic ran to the house. As soon as he got there, however, the whole house collapsed._

"_NO!"_

Sonic shot up in his bed, shaking and sweating, almost unaware of the tears running down his peach muzzle. He hadn't had _that _particular nightmare in over a year. Stumbling out of his bed, he tried to calm down enough to think rationally. Not seeing or hearing Shadow around made him think that something happened to him too.

He heard footsteps, then a familiar voice. "Sonic?"

Shadow had been concerned and scared when he'd heard his son screaming. Having just gotten home from running his errands, he immediately dropped everything in his arms, and ran to Sonic's bedroom, only to see his son already at the door.

Looking at him, Shadow instantly knew his son had had a nightmare.

Before either of them knew it, Sonic had wrapped his arms around his neck, and buried his face into Shadow's chest fluff, crying his eyes out.

Knowing that Sonic's nightmares were usually about his past, Shadow gave him a comforting hug. "Was it the same as usual?"

He was a little surprised when his son had tensed. Sonic's next words were muffled, but they were still audible. "It was about the fire."

'That explains his reaction…' Shadow thought, rubbing circles on his son's back like he had when Sonic was younger. "Do you want to talk about it?"

Sonic shook his head. It was still painful to think about.

"It's best to talk about these things sooner than later, as it'll help lessen the pain."

"It won't go away…"

"The nightmare or the pain of it?"

"Both."

Shadow used his other hand to tilt Sonic's head up and make eye contact with him. "All pain fades over time. For some, it takes days. For others, years. It does go away eventually, and if someone has gone through the same or similar experiences, then they understand your pain, and can help you get through it."

"How do you know?"

"You aren't the only one who lost someone that day," Shadow said quietly.

It was at that moment that Sonic realized why Shadow had been so protective of him after they had been reunited. Not only had he himself been so close to death, but someone dear to both of them had been taken away 13 years later.

Sonic averted his gaze, and muttered "Right…" before looking back at his dad.

"I know it's still painful for you to think about. It's still painful for me too."

Unsure of how to respond, Sonic nodded. His tears weren't flowing as hard, but they were still flowing.

"Go wash your face in the sink. I'll get some ice for your eye." Neither of them had forgotten the day's earlier events.

Sonic nodded again. The salty tears weren't doing anything to help with the slight pain from the black eye.

Unlatching himself from Shadow, he went down the hall to the restroom.

The cool water felt nice, but he still winced slightly when it touched his eye.

Glancing at his reflection, Sonic suddenly hated his dual-colored eyes.

With a furious yell, he grabbed hold of the mirror and, after tearing it from the wall, hurled it at the opposite wall, where it shattered with a resounding crash. Tiny glass shards flew all over the room, some of them cutting Sonic, but not too badly or hitting any vital spots.

This resulted in Shadow nearly breaking the door down as he hurried in, having already been on his way up with the ice pack.

It was there that Shadow saw his son looking as though he'd jumped through a window.

Sighing, Shadow calmly leading his distraught son out of the restroom, and into the den.

Sonic seemed to calm down as they walked, but there was still some self-loathing on his face.

Placing the ice pack over the bruised emerald eye, Shadow managed to coax the reason for the shattered mirror out of his son.

It was a little surprising for him to hear that Sonic was despising his eyes.

"Son, do you think you're the only person with dual-colored eyes? I've seen a few people with the same thing."

Sonic's ears, which had been drooped since waking up from his nightmare, perked up a bit. "Really?"

"Yes. Blue and green, blue and brown, even green and brown. I've even seen a person with black and white colored eyes."

"…I saw someone once who had blue and brown eyes, but everyone ignored him. Why did they ignore him and hate me?"

"Well, they probably haven't seen anyone who has ruby colored eyes other than me. I used to walk through that city a lot, but I guess they never made the connection between my eyes and your own."

"They should have, but I don't think that my thieving would have helped."

"I doubt it would've. Keep that pressed to your eye." Shadow then got up and left the room.

He knew that Shadow was going to get the medical kit. He would've protested that he could treat his own wounds himself, but he had to admit that he couldn't hold the ice pack to his eye and treat his wounds at the same time.

Shadow came back a short while later with the medical kit. The cuts weren't too deep, but they still needed to be cleaned. Also, he was sure he had seen some of the shards embedded into his son's skin, so they needed to be removed.

Sonic had also noticed the embedded shards. He knew it would be a little difficult to get those out, since they were small.

He nodded once to his dad to let him know he could start getting the shards out.

There weren't too many shards, so it didn't take very long to get them all out, though Sonic still hissed in pain when each shard was pulled out.

Once the last shard was out, Shadow cleaned the cuts.

'Good thing I got more medical supplies,' he thought to himself.

After the wounds were cleaned and bandaged, Shadow went to get the stuff he dropped earlier and put them up, but not before saying, "You really shouldn't make a habit of getting hurt, son."

"I'll keep that in mind."

Once Shadow had left the room, Sonic used Chaos Control to go back into his room. He wasn't about to go back to sleep, though. Instead, he used his invented ability to summon a guitar. It had been a few years since he'd even seen a guitar, but he knew how to play one, having taught himself.

Recalling a few songs he'd heard from a few human bands, he practiced the notes first before softly singing to himself.

//////////////////////////////////

(A/N: I would put the lyrics to these songs in here, but I don't want the story to get deleted, so go to any music or video site and listen to "Pain", "On My Own", and "Never Too Late" from Three Days Grace as well as "Given Up", "Crawling", "Somewhere I Belong", and "Faint" from Linkin Park. It may just be me, but I think these songs fit this version of Sonic. Ciao!)

//////////////////////////////////

Unknown to Sonic, his dad could hear the songs through the vents. Shadow clearly heard the emotions in his son's voice, and he felt a pang in his heart. He felt that this had all been his fault.

Sighing for the umpteenth time that day, Shadow leaned against the wall and just listened to the songs.

The both of them felt the same pain, and were oblivious to the other's at the moment.

_T.B.C._

The chapter's finally done! And as a reward for waiting so long, I made it longer for you guys! Over 7000 words and 12 pages on MS Word!

Just so you guys know, I am not good at portraying emotions, or fight scenes, so if this chapter sucked, sorry. Also, for those Knuckles fans, forgive me for making him Sonic's antagonist. I just feel like he should be the (minor) bad guy in this story.

Also, if anyone's wondering, yes, the albino bat was Rouge. Personally, I don't like Rouge, but I don't hate her either. I'm not really sure how I feel about her. If she's OOC, that's because I'm not very familiar with her personality.

More of Sonic's past is revealed! Believe me when I say that most of what I put, I wasn't planning on it. It just happened. BTW, during the second part of Sonic's nightmare, I had been listening to Evanescence's "Hello". It was the inspiration for that part. Made me sad, though… :(

As I said above, I didn't put the lyrics of the listed songs in the chapter, though I almost did but I stopped myself, so just listen to them.

I need a name for Sonic's new ability and form, so please give suggestions! I really suck when it comes to naming things, don't I?

Here is a description of what Sonic looks like when he transforms due to the Emerald's power. I'll describe each stage individually. Most of what I'll say, Shadow already explained in the chapter, so technically I'm repeating it

**First Stage**: Sonic's quills will turn upward slightly, and his fur darkens a considerable amount, but it's a few shades lighter than Shadow's ebony fur. Also, Sonic's emerald colored eye will shift colors to match the ruby eye, so he will look like Shadow. In this stage, he's more aggressive, it is harder for him tell the difference between friend and foe, and his speed and strength is enhanced.

**Second Stage**: His quills will turn upwards more, but not fully, his fur will darken even more, and the pupils in his eyes, which are both still ruby, will vanish, though the irises will stay, leaving a white circle where the pupils used to be. He becomes even more aggressive towards the object or person his anger is directed at, and will attack whoever gets in his way, making him deadlier ad more dangerous to those around him. He will also be faster and stronger than he is in the first stage.

**Third Stage**: Sonic's quills are now fully turned upwards, and his fur, which is now darker than Shadow's, has a ruffled look to it, as though he's been electrocuted, and he also has claws and fangs (think of Fleetway Super Sonic or Kyuubi-Naruto (at any stage, but more like the 4-Tailed stage)). His eyes do not change, except for the irises being a darker shade. Sonic's mind is now similar to a wild, rabid carnivorous animal, hence the claws and fangs, attacking anyone in sight. His speed, strength, and senses are off the charts, so he is a force to be reckoned with.

Well, how was this chapter? Not as good? Better than the last? I need to know!

Comment/review, please!

ShidesuHejjihoggu


	11. Chapter 11

Konichiwa (Hi)! Sorry I kept you guys waiting. I've been busy, but also feeling unmotivated to write. Why I've been unmotivated? …I don't know the answer to that myself…

Thanks for the reviews guys! In other, somewhat related news, "Family" now has over 2000 hits!

*Crush 40's "Almost Dead" plays in background* Whoops, wrong one. *switches it to "Caramelldansen"* There we go. *pause* Wait… *switches it back to "Almost Dead"*

(Excuse the above randomness; I'm not sure where the hell it came from…)

Anyway, time for review responses. If I've replied to your review in any way, shape, or form, then I will not put it up here, because I don't want to type it again. If I've already replied to your review, and I put it up here too, even if it's different, my mistake.

**anime2videogames**: Wow, thanks! I'm glad I was able to make the emotions well enough. I'm usually not very good with that. Glad you love the story!

**IluvSilverShadow**: Thanks! I'm glad you enjoy it. "I am Sonic, hear me rawr!"? That's…odd, but amusing, lol!

**GenesisBlazingShadow**: You think so? The transformations were a spur-of-the-moment thing. I'm keeping it up, as you can see.

**KeizerGodzilla**: Good suggestion. It does seem to fit.

**Kitty Seville**: It would be, wouldn't it? "Oh my Shads"? That's an interesting statement. Sounds like something I'd say. Glad you like it so far.

Both this story, and my other one, Weresan and Oninii are tied for reviews! :D

Disclaimer: How many times do I have to say it? I DON'T OWN THEM! SEGA DOES!

Chapter 11

After he'd finished with the guitar, Sonic hid it under his bed. He had to admit, singing those songs made him feel a little better, but he still felt some of the emotional pain.

Sighing, Sonic left his bedroom, only to find Shadow in the hallway. His shock was quickly replaced with uncertainty and slight embarrassment. "You heard me playing, didn't you?"

Shadow nodded. "I did. You play very well."

When he realized that his dad was trying to prevent him from dwelling on what happened earlier, Sonic felt grateful and relived, but he still sounded bitter when he said, "Yeah, considering I haven't played in 3 years…"

Shadow wouldn't give up so easily. "Where did you learn to play?"

Sonic actually looked pleased with himself when he answered, "I taught myself. I would listen to various songs, and how the notes sounded, and when I finally got my own guitar, I figured out which notes matched the songs' notes, and progressed from there."

"Playing by ear. Impressive."

Sonic blinked. "Really?"

"Yes. It takes a lot of time and patience to learn any instrument just by using hearing and memory."

'It was damn annoying too. It took me forever just to get the first few notes,' was the thought going through Sonic's mind, but aloud he said, "I didn't realize that."

"Speaking of guitars, where did you get that one? More importantly, _how_ did you get it?" Shadow asked, crossing his arms.

Eyes widening slightly, Sonic had enough grace to look embarrassed again and shifted his weight from one foot from the other.

Seeing his son start to fidget nervously, Shadow instantly suspected just how Sonic obtained it. All he needed was an actual confession to fully know.

Not wanting to reveal anything, Sonic tried to get out of it by changing the subject. "How long do I have to 'rest' until I can go back?" 'Not that I _want_ to go back…' he added silently.

Shadow raised an eyebrow at the sudden change in topic, but he didn't want to leave the question unanswered. "Until you feel ready to go back, you'll stay here at home. Back to the matter at hand, how did you get the guitar?"

'So much for that plan…guess I don't have much of a choice.' Succumbing to his apparent doom, he sighed and hung his head. "Alright, fine, I'll say it. I used my little ability to get the guitar. Happy now?" Now he was glaring slightly at his dad.

"You do know that you technically stole it, right?" Shadow pointed out.

Sonic just gave a half shrug. "Yeah, but what do I care?" He knew that since he had no idea where he even got the guitar from, he couldn't give it back. 'Who says I'm going to give it back?'

Shadow had known that even after several months, his son would still revert to his old habits of thievery. He hadn't thought of Sonic becoming so used to stealing it would no longer bother him. He was about to respond, when suddenly a loud 'BOOM', as though something exploded, came from downstairs.

At the sound of it, both hedgehogs raced downstairs to find the source.

However, when they did, Sonic froze and paled, his eyes glazing over and his breath becoming short, quick gasps. He was also trembling.

The explosion had created a fire.

Shadow had noticed his son's reaction to the sight of the fire. It only took a nanosecond to realize why, and he mentally kicked himself. 'After the fire, he's probably had pyrophobia ever since…'

Now Shadow had a dilemma to face. He had to make sure the fire didn't spread, but he also needed to get his son away from there and calm him down.

He could tell he only had seconds before Sonic went into a full-blown panic attack, as well as the fire going out of control.

Sonic, meanwhile…

…was still trapped in the memory of the fire. The fact that he had had the nightmare about it not too long ago didn't help the situation.

The only word repeating in his head was, 'No…'

Vaguely, he could still see what was happening in the present, but the sound of the fire crackling and the smell of smoke kept him trapped in the memory.

He could still feel the fear, desperation, and helplessness he had felt then. It was also getting harder for him to breathe normally as the seconds passed.

Luckily for them, the smoke wasn't thick yet, so Shadow, remembering the fire extinguisher that was under the sink, braved the slowly spreading flames, but he only managed to take a few steps before he was grabbed from behind.

"No!"

Sonic had seen Shadow's silhouette going towards the fire, and not being able to stand the thought of losing someone else to, in his opinion, the frightening flames from Hell, he grabbed his dad's wrist to keep him from, again in his opinion, willingly jumping into the fire. "No!"

Turning his head, Shadow saw just how afraid his son was. "Listen to me, son. I know you're afraid, but I need to get something from one of the cabinets, and I can't get it if you're keeping me back."

"Please…" Sonic's whispered voice had sounded so frightened, almost to the point of being broken, Shadow felt his own heart breaking.

Still, he had to keep calm, even as the fire raged. "Sonic, I need to get the fire extinguisher."

Perking up slightly, Sonic raised his free hand and concentrated. A second later, said fire extinguisher appeared.

Mentally kicking himself again, Shadow thought to himself, 'I should've remembered. How could I forget about that ability?'

Sonic was hesitant to hand over the fire extinguisher. He wasn't looking directly at the flames anymore, but since they were spreading, they slowly coming back into his line of vision, therefore increasing his hesitation.

Seeing his son's increasing hesitation and fear, Shadow gently took the took the fire extinguisher from the navy colored, pyrophobic teen, all the while trying to reassure him.

Sonic, however, seeing that his dad was still going to go towards the fire, went into a panic, and, though mostly due to the rising smoke, started having trouble breathing. He could practically hear his heart pounding in his ears.

Shadow, meanwhile, was having a little trouble putting out the flames. He knew that when it came to fires, the best way to put them out, aim for the base of the fire.

Finally, 10 minutes later, the fire was completely out. Tossing the fire extinguisher aside, Shadow turned back to his still panicking, but slowly calming down once the fire was gone, son, calmly walked to him, and started rubbing circles on his back.

"It's over, son. The danger's passed. You're safe now," Shadow murmured, doing everything he could think of to soothe his son.

It seemed to work, because Sonic calmed down within several minutes.

Once Sonic was fully calm, and more aware of his surroundings, he noticed tears running down his face, which he furiously wiped away, feeling rather embarrassed about it.

"Feeling better?"

Sonic hadn't forgotten that his dad was there, but it didn't make him feel better. "Define 'better'."

Shadow glared, but it went unnoticed, since Sonic was still rubbing his eyes. "Has your panic attack fully subsided?"

"It wasn't a panic attack!" Sonic yelled defensively, lowering his arm and glaring right back at Shadow. 'He can't know…he should never know…'

"If it wasn't a panic attack, then what was it?"

Sonic was trying to come up with an excuse, and fast. "It…It was…" but he couldn't come up with a good excuse, so he sighed in defeat. "Alright, fine, it was a fucking panic attack. Is that what you wanted to hear?"

"It would've been better _without_ the language."

Glowering at him, Sonic just stayed silent as he turned his gaze to the floor.

"Why didn't you want me to know?" Shadow asked, not understanding why his son would keep something as serious as this a secret.

"I thought you would've started treating me differently if you knew…" was the soft reply.

"Having an attack like that, or a phobia, doesn't make you any different."

"…It gave them another advantage to torment me…"

The ebony hedgehog didn't need to ask about "them". He clenched his fists at the thought of how hard things had been for his son.

When Sonic heard the sound of cracking knuckles, he grew worried and turned his head slightly to look at Shadow, who at the moment looked angry enough to kill.

'It's because of me he's like this. Why did I tell him? I should've just kept it to myself…' Sonic thought as he looked at the floor again.

As soon as Shadow saw his son's sullen expression, he had to force himself to calm down.

"How did they find out about your phobia?" Shadow asked in a semi-monotone voice.

Sonic closed his eyes as more memories bombarded him. He opened them halfway, and Shadow saw that they were glazed over again. His son's voice was completely emotionless as he explained.

"There was a small riot that broke out. It happened a few months after I escaped the orphanage, but I don't really know what caused it. I was just watching from one of the alleyways, when they started setting a building on fire. When I saw the fire I just…Well, one of the more drunken guys saw, and told the rest of the mob.

"Once they got wind of that piece of information, they all their attention towards me, they all started taunting me. 'What's the matter, ya weird-eyed freak? Afraid of a little fire?'" Obviously, Sonic's voice had had to switch to sarcastic mocking for the last sentence before it went back to emotionless. Still, he shuddered as he concluded with, "The several that had torches…you can guess what they did…"

As soon as he heard that last statement, Shadow _really_ felt like killing someone. It took every bit of self-restraint he had not to run off and do so, though.

Once he had forced himself to calm down again, Shadow sighed and put an arm around his son's shoulders. The action snapped Sonic out of his reverie, making him look at the obsidian hedgehog and blink slowly, as though just now realizing he was there.

A few seconds of silence passed before Sonic looked at the floor again, stood up, and started to walk away.

"Where are you going?" Shadow asked, unsure if he should really let his son be alone at the moment.

"…To the balcony. I won't do anything stupid, so don't worry about me," Sonic responded, his voice so low, even Shadows keen ears strained to hear it.

'I _should_ follow him…' Shadow thought as he watched his son's retreating form.

3 minutes later, at the balcony…

Sonic was sitting on the railing of the balcony. He knew it was a bad idea to do so, since it could easily break, or he could lose his balance and fall, but at the moment, he didn't really care.

Looking at the nighttime sky, Sonic tried hard not to think about his past. Why did he have to mention anything? Living the memories once was bad enough, but talking about it made him relive them.

'At least most of the blows I had blocked with my hands…' he thought, taking off his gloves. It was hard to see with the peach fur, but there was a lot of scar tissue from the burns he'd received when he had blocked blows from flaming torches.

Luckily, none of the scar tissue stiffened up and caused problems. He couldn't have afforded it if he wouldn't have been able to keep stealing food. He would've starved to death if he couldn't get food, no matter how little.

After scrambling to put his gloves back on, in case his dad decided to make sure he hadn't attempted suicide, he continued to look at the stars.

Frowning, Sonic looked down at his hands again, slowly taking the gloves off once more.

In the darkness, it was barely noticeable that he had been burned at all. One just needed to know where the scars were. During the day, they were slightly noticeable, if someone looked closely.

'I'm a bit surprised he hasn't noticed them yet,' he thought. 'Then again, I doubt he'd been looking close enough to actually notice them.'

At that moment, thunder could be heard in the distance.

"Well, that's just great…just my luck. At least things can't get any worse."

Right when that statement left his mouth, a bone-chilling laugh could be heard.

"What the hell? Who's there?"

Eerie sounding music sounded to play, and Sonic couldn't help thinking that he'd heard it before.

"_**Your soul is very interesting. I have not seen one like yours in over a century."**_

'This is getting weird. What's he talking about my soul for?' Sonic thought as he flipped backwards off the railing and back onto the balcony.

It was then that he saw something he knew hadn't been there before.

The more he stared, the louder the music got.

It was a doll, but that wasn't the only reason why he was staring.

It looked like a creepy version of a two-tailed fox, and there was something that looked like a red jewel sticking out of its head.

It was covered in blood.

And it was hovering above the ground.

"What the hell are you?" he managed to ask in his shock.

It laughed again, and it sounded so frightening that it made Sonic's quills harden and sharpen out of pure instinct. Still, he hid his fear.

"_**Foolish mortal. I can see you are afraid."**_

"Who are you? What do you want?" Sonic tried very hard to keep the fear out of his voice.

"_**What I want is…your soul."**_

The jewel on it's head glowed, and as the first lightning bolt lit up the sky, and thunder rumbled even louder, Sonic felt an immense pain in his chest. It was so sudden he couldn't help but scream from the intensity of it.

The last thing he felt before darkness entered his vision was something being pulled from his body.

Downstairs…

Shadow had still been contemplating on whether or not to follow Sonic to the balcony. The thunder was worrying, but not too much.

It was when the music started playing did Shadow realize something was wrong. He had heard the legends; he just hoped they weren't true.

Then came the scream.

The bloodcurdling scream made his insides freeze.

Trying not to fear the worst, Shadow ran up to the balcony.

He wasn't prepared for the sight in front of him.

"The Tails Doll…" he whispered.

Then he caught sight of Sonic, and what was in Tails Doll's hands. He could've sworn he felt his heart stop; memories of that day in the hospital over 15 and a half years earlier made their way to the surface. Shadow fell to his knees.

'Not again…Damn it, not again!'

In response to his overwhelming emotions, Shadow's Chaos Energy started to swirl around him. This caused Tails Doll to turn towards him.

"_**Ah, another soul I can feast on. Yours and the boy's souls will be enough to fuel my power for the next century."**_

'That bastard will pay for what he did to my son!'

Shadow's ebony fur slowly became red to match his streaks. His eyes lost their pupils and irises.

In a flash, Shadow had the Tails Doll by the throat and was currently a few hundred feet above the ground.

"_**Fool. Do you honestly think you can kill me?"**_

Powering up a Chaos Spear, Shadow aimed at Tails Doll's chest, only emitting one word:

"Die!"

Then, he fired the powerful Chaos Spear at the psychotic doll, leaving nothing but ash, before reverting back to normal and, using his hover skates to float back to his son.

Unfortunately, Shadow had momentarily forgotten that Tails Doll had been holding Sonic's soul when he was disintegrated, a fact he realized too late.

Before his emotions could overwhelm him again, a pulse of Chaos Energy was emitted from Sonic's body, shocking the hell out of Shadow.

"Sonic?"

What shocked him even more was when his son _responded_ by opening his eyes…

Only…

Sonic's eyes were dull, containing no emotion whatsoever.

Without a soul, he had nothing. He felt nothing.

But…

'If he's still managing to respond even with his soul gone…did…did he somehow create an artificial soul for himself?'

During one of his missions he had heard about artificial souls. How those who received one in order to save their lives would act positively, negatively, or indifferent depending on the type of people they were around.

Now Shadow had a new dilemma. How much would his son remember? Would Sonic still have all of his memories? Or would he have complete amnesia?

'Only one way to find out,' he thought as he walked towards his son, uncertainty flooding through his body.

"Sonic?"

A faint spark of recognition flashed in the dual-colored eyes, though Shadow was unsure if it was recognition of his name or hearing his voice, but other than that, there was nothing.

"Do you know who I am?"

Sonic turned his head towards the voice. It sounded familiar…but who was it? He couldn't remember…

There was one memory of pain…and a few small ones of…someone holding him, soothing his fears. But who was it? Looking at the figure next to him, he saw that he looked like the person in his memories. Was it the same one?

Shadow was growing worried. He knew that there was a good chance Sonic had amnesia, but the thought of it made him even more worried.

After a few more seconds of silence, Shadow was regrettably starting to lose hope.

There was another thunderclap, reminding Shadow of the approaching storm. It wouldn't do either of them any good to get caught in the rain, so he carefully picked up his son and carried him inside.

If Sonic had had the strength to, he would've gasped in pain when he felt himself being moved. He hadn't been aware of it before.

Being carted like this, though…felt familiar…

An image found its way into his mind…an image of a picture…it showed…a young hedgehog, who he faintly recognized as himself, an older female hedgehog, and…the male who was carrying him.

It didn't make any sense. What did that picture mean?

Why did it only show him and the other two?

Who were they?

_T.B.C._

Okay, not the best chapter out there, but I wasn't sure how else to end it…and I wanted to finish this chapter by the end of the day, as the Tails Doll being there was for Halloween. Speaking of which, Happy Halloween, everyone! Oh shit, I didn't finish before midnight...I lost track of time. Oops...

I hope I didn't mess up on anything; I had a hard time deciding whether or not Sonic _should_ have had his memories.

The artificial soul thing is from Sonic Battle, I think, where it was discovered that Shadow was created with an artificial soul. The part about the personality of whoever is has one changing depending on the type of people they're around…that's just my theory on how they work, but I'm not sure if it's true.

Yes, I made Sonic pyrophobic. I thought it would help with his and Shadow's still repairing relationship. I personally don't know anyone who has pyrophobia. I, on the other hand, have the complete opposite, pyromania!

Anyway, sorry if this chapter didn't meet expectations. And for the wait.

Now… *as the creepy version of "Can You Feel The Sunshine?" plays in the background, and the Tails Doll appears* review, please…

Tails Doll: _**Or I shall steal your souls.**_

ShidesuHejjihoggu (and guest star, the Tails Doll)


	12. Chapter 12

Okay, I'm SO sorry for making everyone wait. If you've read my other story, which I changed the title of to "What Do I Believe? Who Should I Follow?" then you know why it took me this long.

If you haven't yet, here are my excuses:

Writer's block, unmotivation, college, a friend's/reviewer's computer dying, and real life in general.

Also, I had some trouble thinking of how to write this chapter…oh, and for the one reviewer who bashed the Tails Doll…I HAPPEN TO LIKE THE TAILS DOLL! SO DON'T SAY IT WAS UNNESSECARY! *deep breaths*

Now that I got that out of my system, I am NOT posting anymore review replies in the author's notes. If I haven't replied to your reviews, sorry, but you'll have to wait for this chapter to be updated and your next set of reviews to come in.

Note: Any minor misspelled words and grammar issues are there for reasons stated in the chapter.

Disclaimer: SEGA owns the characters; I'm just using them for fun.

Chapter 12

It had been several months since the incident with the thankfully-for-them-dead Tails Doll, and Shadow was glad he had an enormous amount of patience, for Sonic, still recovering from his amnesia, so far had the memories of the first 4 years of his life, which the artificial soul that Sonic had unconsciously created for himself had adapted to, giving Sonic the mentality of a young child. Since Shadow already had experience with a young Sonic, he thought he could handle anything the four-year-old-in-a-teenager's-body threw at him.

How wrong he was.

At the moment he was glaring at his trying-to-look-innocent-but-failing-miserably son who had decided to show off his art skills by drawing all over the walls with some markers he found.

Folding his arms, he asked, "Sonic, what do you have to say for yourself?"

"Um…wasn't me?" was Sonic's answer, though his guilty expression didn't help. Even so, he wondered why he was in trouble when all he did was decorate the bland-looking walls. As a result of the new mentality, Sonic's voice also sounded similar to that of a child; though he still retained the language skills he had before the incident, so there weren't as many grammar problems in his speech as there would normally be. Despite this, there were still some words that Sonic didn't understand or couldn't pronounce properly.

Mentally sighing, Shadow decided to play along. "Then how do you explain the drawings on the wall?"

"Magic!" Sonic grinned.

"And was it magic that also got you covered in marker ink?" Shadow asked, amused as it seemed that some of the markers had leaked ink all over Sonic's arms.

Sonic hadn't realized this, however, and as he looked himself over, his eyes widened. "Um…"

'Gotcha,' Shadow thought, smirking to himself. "Tell me the truth, Sonic. Did you use the markers I had to ruin the walls?"

"No ruined, I made 'em better!" It wasn't until he finished his sentence that Sonic realized he'd just accidentally confessed. "Oops…"

His expression sheepish, Sonic hung his head, the markers scattered across the floor near his feet only further condemning him.

Shadow sighed through his nose, closing his eyes in thought. While Sonic's confession had been accidental, the mere fact that he had tried to cover it up, even if the excuse had been as childish as Sonic's mind was at the moment, meant that the old Sonic was still there, buried deep within in the recesses of his mind.

Shifting his weight from one foot to the other, Sonic glanced at the older male, as though trying to gauge just how disapproving he was. When he noticed that Shadow's eyes were closed, he grinned mischievously, scooped up the markers, and ran off to defile the downstairs' walls.

Of course, once he got to the stairs, he was grabbed from the waist, causing him to lose his grip on the markers, which rolled down the stairs.

"Don't run down the stairs, you could trip and fall, thus hurting yourself," Shadow said as though Sonic tried to do so every day, which he did.

And of course, Sonic wasn't paying any attention to him. Instead he was trying to free himself. "Lemme go!"

"Listen to me first, Sonic. Then I'll let you go."

Sonic pouted after hearing that, but continued to struggle.

'I wonder if it's a good thing his stubbornness hasn't changed one bit,' was Shadow's thought, as he reached over and tweaked Sonic's ear, a little harder then he normally would when giving his son a warning.

Then again, this time it _was_ more than a warning.

"Ow!" Sonic cried, looking at Shadow indignantly. "Tat hurt, Da!"

Shadow almost lost his grip on his son after hearing that word, and since they were on the very edge of the stairs, the end results of that would not be pretty. Thankfully, he kept his hold on Sonic.

It was the first time since Sonic had recovered the memories from when he was young that he called Shadow 'Da' and it had been years since Shadow had heard it.

Putting those thoughts aside, he looked at Sonic, who was now staring at him with curiosity.

"Whatcha thinking bout, Da?"

"Nothing you need to worry about, son. But, since you're so eager to try running down the stairs, how about I show you what could happen if you fall?"

Shadow figured what he was about to do would be harsh, but since Sonic wouldn't listen to his warnings, desperate times call for desperate measures.

Sonic, on the other hand, figured that the demonstration would be something cool, so he nodded. "Okay!"

"Alright then. Wait here." Shadow then went down the stairs, avoiding the markers along the way, and came back a few minutes later with a watermelon.

Sonic simply stared, tilting his head to the side like a confused puppy. "What's tat for? We gonna eat it?"

"You won't want to eat it after this. Pretend that the watermelon is you. Now, let's see what would happen should you fall down the stairs." And with that, Shadow dropped the giant fruit down the staircase.

As soon as it made impact with the first step, a large chunk of it was smashed off, and the process continued until the whole staircase, the floors, and the wall, were covered in watermelon bits.

"…Tat could be me?"

Sonic's voice was so small, so quiet, that Shadow almost didn't hear it, and only now after the deed had been done did he fear he had gone too far. Looking at his son, he could have sworn his heart stopped at the stricken expression Sonic now wore.

"Yes, Sonic, that _could_ have been you, but _only_ if you don't take my warnings about this sort of thing seriously."

Perhaps Shadow shouldn't have said anything at all, for now Sonic was trembling, large tears cascading down his face. "Da…I…I sorwy…"

"Sonic, you don't need to feel sorry. I know you can be stubborn and unwilling to listen sometimes. I just wanted to make sure you knew the dangers of running around without paying attention to what's around you," Shadow explained to the best of his abilities hopefully without confusing the boy.

While Sonic didn't understand most of the words, he understood part of what Shadow was saying.

Seeing the small glimmer of understanding in Sonic's still tear-filled eyes, Shadow smiled. "I have an idea, Sonic. If you help me clean this up," he said, pointing to the melon bits everywhere, "and then clean yourself up, I'll make you some chillidogs."

Sonic instantly brightened up at the prospect of his favorite food. "Yay!"

Of course, Sonic had missed the part about helping with the clean up, being so excited about having chillidogs, so he instantly ran off to the bathroom, momentarily forgetting about his aversion to water.

Shadow couldn't help chuckling at his son's excitement. It was a vast improvement from how he was the first few weeks. He had been unresponsive to anything Shadow said to him, and couldn't move on his own. After two and a half months, Sonic started to respond, and even twitch his limbs. Also, by then, he started gaining a few memories back.

It hadn't been long until Shadow realized that it was only every couple of months that Sonic would gain memories from one year of his life, in chronological order. While it was good that eventually Sonic would regain all of his memories, with every "year" that Sonic gained back, the one thing that would never seem to stick was his mother being gone. Of course, it could just be because most individuals don't remember events from before the age of five.

_Flashback_

"_Da? How come Ma ain't here?" was the first question to be asked by Sonic only a few hours after receiving his four-year-old memories._

_He didn't recognize where they were, but when he saw his Da and Speedy, he knew it had to be a different house they were living in._

_Shadow, meanwhile, was a little confused. After the last two recoveries Sonic had gone through, the same question had been asked, and Shadow had to explain, though avoiding the term death since a child wouldn't understand, that his mother was simply gone. This time, though, it took a few minutes to realize that the explanation wasn't a part of Sonic's original memories, and thus, he would forget it every time another year's worth of memories came back._

'_Hm, if I use something that's connected to his original memories to explain it again, he might remember it next time,' Shadow thought, an idea forming in his mind._

"_Sonic, do you remember when I took you to go see the stars?" he asked._

_He smiled when he saw his son nod. "Yeah, Da. Why?"_

"_Remember what I said about the stars?"_

_Sonic had a thoughtful expression as he concentrated on the answer. "Um…they're the sprits of people we know, and they shine brighter when they're the sprits of family, right?"_

"_Close, but good enough. The stars are formed when a new _spirit_ enters the skies to watch over the ones they've left behind," Shadow explained, emphasizing the word "spirit" in an attempt to get Sonic to say it correctly._

"_Sprit!"_

'_Always so close, yet never perfect. Such is the way a young child speaks.' "Try again, son. Repeat after me. Spi…"_

_Sonic, thinking this was a game, eagerly repeated, "Spi…"_

"Rit."

_"Rit."_

"_Spi-rit."_

"_Sprit!"_

_Shadow sighed, knowing that Sonic would insist on his own pronunciation of the word instead of the correct way. "As I was saying, when a new spirit enters the skies, a new star is formed. Sonic…your mother's spirit is one of the stars now."_

_At first, the words didn't register in Sonic's mind, but after a few seconds, his eyes widened in realization, tears already falling. "Sh-She gone?"_

_It nearly tore Shadow's heart in two to hear the child-like voice sound so broken. "She got sick. It happened so fast, and there was nothing the doctors could do about it." It wasn't the whole truth, but he figured it wouldn't be good to go into detail._

_Sonic shook his head in denial, holding the stuffed Chao close to him._

_Shadow, who had been standing nearby, instantly went to his side and pulled his son into a comforting hug, knowing it would help with soothe the emotionally distraught youth._

"_Make her come back, Da! Make her come back!" Sonic sobbed into his chest._

"_I wish I could, son, but I can't. It happened too fast for anyone to do anything about it. But you know what? I'm still here, and I'll always be here for you," Shadow said, rubbing circles on the boy's back._

_After several minutes, Sonic's sobs died down to just sniffles and hiccups, and only then did he look up at Shadow. "Always?"_

"_Always, son."_

_End Flashback_

"Da?"

Shaking himself out of his thoughts, Shadow looked over at Sonic, who seemed nervous and was hiding something behind his back. He could also faintly hear the sound of running water. "Yes, Sonic?"

"Um…" Sonic fidgeted before revealing his hand, which was holding one of the sink taps. "I broke it…"

'How do you break one of those off?' Shadow thought. 'Well, it would explain why the water's still running.'

Then, Shadow also realized something else. "Sonic, did you try to stop the water from getting everywhere?"

Sonic shook his head. "Was I supposed to, Da?"

"Only if you were older, Sonic. For now, it was good thinking of you to come get me first. Come on; let's see what the damage is."

Nodding, Sonic led the way to the slowly flooding bathroom. He suddenly stopped and made a face of disgust when his bare foot came in contact with the soaked carpet. "Ew…"

Shadow just raised an eyebrow. "Where are your shoes?"

Sonic pointed to the bathroom door, water coming out from under it. "They got wet. I took 'em off," he said, as though it explained everything.

Shadow inwardly groaned, just now remembering Sonic's aversion to water. Now, Sonic wasn't hydrophobic, but he didn't like the feeling of any part of his body being wet.

"Your socks, too?"

Sonic nodded.

"Alright, then. Let me fix it. Stay out here, I don't want you slipping."

Remembering the events from earlier that involved the staircase, Sonic nodded again.

Shadow was just about to open the door, when Sonic remembered something else. "Da!" When Shadow turned to look at him, Sonic held out the bathtub tap.

Shadow smiled at his son and took the tap from him. "Thank you, Sonic. Without this, I wouldn't be able to fix the sink."

Sonic grinned, but for some reason, he felt nervous about his Da doing this alone.

"Don't worry, Sonic. I'll be fine," Shadow reassured him.

Shadow then opened the door, thus releasing a few more inches of water, which caused Sonic to step back, and after putting Sonic's shoes and socks outside next to the door, carefully made his way over to the sink.

'How to fix this…? Hm, my Chaos Energy can seal up wounds, so maybe the same principles will apply here? It's worth a shot,' Shadow thought. Attaching the tap back on and aligning it, then letting some of his Chaos Energy flow into the metal. Doing this for a few minutes just to make sure it worked, Shadow then turned the knob to the right, which effectively shut the water off.

'Huh, it actually worked.'

After hearing the water stop, Sonic tentatively stuck his head in the doorway. "Is it fixed?"

"Surprisingly, yes. How did you break it, anyway, Sonic?"

Sonic cringed slightly. "I thought it was stuck…"

"You mean, as you were turning it, it suddenly stopped?" Shadow asked.

Sonic cringed again, his nervousness suddenly increasing tenfold, though he wasn't sure why, and he nodded again.

Shadow briefly wondered why Sonic was so nervous, but he decided not to press the issue until later. "It's alright, Sonic. I was just trying to figure out what exactly happened. This was just an accident."

"Oh…okay." Sonic was relieved, but still a little nervous. Even if he didn't understand why he was nervous, at least he wasn't in trouble.

"Let me just clean up in here, okay? _Then_ I'll make you your chillidogs."

"Yay!" Sonic cheered, doing a little happy dance for a few minutes before stopping. "Wait, what about the stairs?"

"We'll worry about that later," Shadow said, getting some towels and using them to dry the floor.

Once he was done, Shadow turned the sink back on and beckoned Sonic over. "Let's get those arms clean, alright?"

Sonic made a face at that. "But, Da…"

"Do you want your chillidogs or not, son?" Shadow replied, knowing that he frequently had to use Sonic's favorite food as a bribe.

Now Sonic was torn. Should he really get his arms wet just so he could have his beloved chillidogs? Or should he refuse only to miss out on eating them? He pouted, not really wanting to decide.

"Come on, Sonic. The sooner we wash your arms, the quicker I can get to making them."

Sonic was still deciding on what to do when his stomach decided for him by rumbling loudly. Embarrassed, he blushed and hung his head.

Shadow was just about to grab him, but Sonic sensed this, and tried to run, only to trip over his own feet. Since he was on soggy carpet, he not only got partially wet, but also minor carpet burns on his elbows and knees. "Ow!"

'Now that I think about it, Sonic could be considered accident-prone…' Shadow thought, thinking of all the times Sonic had been injured, including now. He sighed quietly, then walked over to his son and knelt beside him. "Are you okay?"

Sonic shook his head, then glared childishly at the carpet. "Stupid carpet…"

"Did you trip on the carpet?" Shadow asked.

"No…"

"Then why are you blaming it?"

"Cause it hurt me," was the only logical answer Sonic could think of.

Momentarily, a dark glint appeared in Shadow's eyes, but it disappeared as fast as it had come. At the same time, he felt an overwhelming surge of protectiveness. He blinked, briefly wondering where it had come from, but he would think about it later.

Interestingly enough, a similar glint appeared in Sonic's eyes, but less pronounced. However, since he was still facing the carpet, Shadow hadn't seen it.

Shadow, knowing he still needed to tend to his son's wounds, merely tapped him on the shoulder to get his attention. "Come on, Sonic. Let's take care of those burns, hm?"

Sonic wasn't really paying attention, as his mind was wandering, but he knew his Da was asking something, so he simply nodded.

It wasn't until a few minutes later when he heard the sound of running water that he realized what was going on, and he tried to get off the counter.

Luckily Shadow caught him before he fell off. "Enough, Sonic," he chided gently.

Sonic was being stubborn, though, and continued to struggle.

He stopped, however, when Shadow splashed him in the face with water. He blinked a few times in surprise before pouting.

"Just be glad the ink is washable, son, instead of permanent, otherwise I'd have to use more than just water. Same with the burns being minor." Shadow then set to work not only removing the marker ink from Sonic's arms, but also cleaning the small carpet burns.

Sonic, of course, let out small yelps when his wounds were cleaned, but for the most part remained still.

20 minutes later, the ink was gone and carpet burns cleaned, and a miffed (for getting wet) yet happy (because it was now over) Sonic literally jumped off the counter.

"That wasn't so bad, now was it?"

Sonic pouted again. "It was."

"Like I said, just be glad the markers were washable and the burns were minor."

"What's tat mean, Da?"

"'Minor'? It means that the burns weren't that bad."

"Oh."

Sonic's stomach rumbled again, reminding Shadow of the task ahead. "So, how many do you want me to make?"

"A lot!"

Shadow chuckled. "I'm sure you want a lot, but how many in numbers?"

"I dunno…" Sonic said with a shrug. "But I want a lot!"

"How about I just make you a few, and if you're still hungry, I'll make you some more?"

"Um…okay!"

"Grab my arm, then," Shadow instructed.

Sonic was confused, but he still did as he was told, and grabbed Shadow's arm. He couldn't help feeling that there was something familiar about this.

"Chaos…"

_Now_ Sonic remembered this, from the back of his mind, and decided to finish the sentence. "Control!"

In a flash of light, the two hedgehogs were in the kitchen.

Shadow couldn't believe it. "Sonic, you…you remembered how to use Chaos Control!" This meant that either Sonic was starting to regain some of his other memories, or he had merely subconsciously remembered it from when they had first arrived home.

Sonic grinned at him. Then he frowned in confusion.

"Let me guess, son. You want to know what Chaos Control is." 'Looks like he doesn't fully remember what it is,' he thought.

"Yeah."

"Basically, it lets you teleport wherever you want to go."

"Like magic?"

"In a way, yes."

Sonic grinned again. "Cool." He was about to ask something else, but then his stomach rumbled _again_.

"Alright, alright, I'll start the chillidogs. Be patient."

After hearing those last two words, Sonic pouted, but he sat down at the table.

It took Shadow about 10 minutes to make a batch of 7 chillidogs. When he set the plate down in front of Sonic, the younger hedgehog's eyes lit up considerably, and Shadow could even see his mouth watering.

Sonic then proceeded to wolf them down so fast, Shadow was afraid he might choke. To his relief, that did not happen.

Once Sonic was done, he certainly looked satisfied, and held up the plate towards Shadow with a pleading expression. "More?"

Although Shadow inwardly thought his son was perfectly imitating the fictional orphan Oliver Twist, on the outside he simply gave him a disapproving look.

Seeing the look, Sonic rolled his eyes. "More, _please_?"

Shadow nodded in approval, smiled, and took the plate. While he made the next batch, he glanced out the window, and noticed that it was about a week until full moon, sending a small shiver down his spine.

Besides his work spying on GUN, there was another reason why Shadow was away for long periods of time.

It was a genetic "disease" that starts making an appearance on any afflicted family member around their 17th birthday.

Most thought it was simply a myth, but the Lycanthropy virus was, in fact, real. It was just passed down from generation to generation in, as far as Shadow knew, only one family: his. The difference between the myth and the family virus was that one could transform at will if they wished to.

Ironically, the full moon was on the same night as Sonic's birthday.

'This is going to be one very interesting birthday for Sonic…'

Lost in his thoughts, Shadow hadn't been paying attention to how he was setting the microwave, and set it too high, resulting in the chillidogs exploding.

The sudden noise startled Sonic, who fell out of his chair yet again, but instead of landing on his head like last time, he landed on his rear.

Mentally beating himself up, Shadow was quick to not only comfort him, but also clean out the microwave, all in the span of 5 minutes.

As he turned back to Sonic, he was suddenly clouted on the head with something relatively soft. Glancing at the object that was now at his feet, he saw it was Speedy the stuffed Chao. Knowing instantly who threw it at him, he mildly glared at Sonic, who was pouting and had his arms crossed, looking similar to Shadow.

"Sonic, why did you throw that at me?"

"Cause you made 'em blow up!"

"That, son, was an accident. Even I make mistakes sometimes."

"So? You still made 'em blow up!" Sonic cried angrily, his eyes darkening for a fraction of a second.

Shadow could feel his own anger rising, and since the full moon was approaching, he needed to rein it in before he shifted right in front of his son.

Sonic was already shifting. Even if a youngling hadn't gone through their first official transformation, if their Lycan parent shifts, then they would draw on the energy used and shift as well, partially.

His teeth and nails were sharpening and lengthening, and his fur became thicker and longer.

It wasn't the full shift, but Shadow knew that being at least halfway shifted meant that Sonic would still act like a full-fledged Lycan. At least he knew how to handle it from his own experiences.

When Sonic lunged at him, Shadow also shifted, quickly grabbed him by the scruff, and shook him, hard.

**(A/N: Okay, from now on, whenever Sonic and Shadow are in their Lycan forms, Shadow's perspective will be in bold and italic, Sonic's will just be bold. It will alternate between them as though they are actually speaking with each other, with the regular third person POV in between, to kind of explain what is going on.)**

_**Growl. **_

_**Insolent Pup!**_

Sonic, however, did not appreciate this form of discipline.

**Anger. **

**Defiance. **

**Snarl.**

Shadow certainly hadn't expected that. Then he remembered that fledgling Lycans don't recall most information in their lives when they first partially or fully shift, full moon or not.

_**Pup does not remember pack. **_

_**Must remind Pup. **_

_**Idea.**_

Letting go of Sonic, Shadow ran over to the old storage room, literally rammed the door open, and sniffed around.

**Curious. **

**Want to follow.**

Though, instead of following, Sonic, his anger gone and replaced with confusion and curiosity, simply sat down.

_**Have to find it. **_

_**Have to remind Pup of pack.**_

Then he did find it; it was the picture that helped Sonic remember about Shadow being his father.

Snatching the picture, he ran back to the kitchen.

**Blink. **

**Confused. **

**Want the square thing. **

**Must take.**

Sonic tried to take the picture, only Shadow didn't think it was a good idea.

_**Warning growl. **_

_**Item important. **_

_**Can't let Pup destroy it. **_

_**Have to show Pup.**_

And that's just what he did. He showed Sonic the picture of them and Sonic's mother.

**Head tilt. **

**Confused.**

**Figures familiar.**

**Figures are…pack!**

**Other Male is Elder…Father.**

**Female…Female is Mother. Mother is…gone.**

**Sorrow.**

**Grief.**

**Pack incomplete.**

Shadow watched the different emotions, confusion, realization, recognition, and sorrow, appearing on Sonic's face. He let the picture fall.

_**Pup sad.**_

_**Pup grieving.**_

_**Have to comfort pup.**_

_**Nuzzle.**_

Father and son grieved yet again for their lost loved one, but not as long as they had last time.

**Father here.**

**Safe.**

**Father will protect.**

**Happy.**

**But still sad.**

**Want Mother here.**

**Whine.**

**Mother…had been ill.**

**Yet, was there something else?**

**Can't remember.**

**Father must know.**

**Have to ask Father.**

Shadow had seen the confusion mingled with sadness in Sonic's eyes, and used a series of body postures and vocalizations to communicate.

"_**What troubles you, Pup?"**_

At first, Sonic hadn't understood the Lycan language, but then he instinctively recognized it and placed his paw over the image of his mother.

**Whine.**

"**I wish to know. What happened?"**

If Sonic thought that he would get an answer right away, he was wrong. Shadow knew it would not be easy tell the tale, but how to do it was the hard part.

"_**Shift back, Pup. Then I will explain."**_

Now that Sonic wasn't expecting.

**Head tilt.**

"**Shift?"**

**Confused.**

**Wait.**

**Young male…is me.**

**I am…Lycan…and Hedgehog.**

Remembering that little detail, Sonic shifted back to being a hedgehog. He hadn't even realized he had shifted in the first place until he remembered who he was.

Shadow gave a nod of approval before shifting back as well.

"Da…?"

Shadow sensed that his son was trying to absorb the events that just transpired, so he motioned for him to sit down.

"This might be hard to take in, son, but…you know how one of your drawings is a building on fire?"

Wondering where this was going, Sonic nodded. He wasn't really sure where that image had come from, but he couldn't get it out of his head.

"And you remember how I said that your mother died from an illness?"

Eyes filling up with sorrow, Sonic nodded again.

"Well, that was only half of it.

"It was?"

Shadow nodded. "The doctors were trying different ways to treat her illness, and I'm sure they were close to finding one that worked when the fire broke out."

An unexplained surge of terror flooded Sonic's body. "F-Fire?" He didn't understand why he felt so afraid, or why his head was starting to hurt.

"Yes, a fire, but I'll get back to that in a little bit," Shadow said, sensing his son's fear, and knowing that the change of topic will help settle him.

"…Da? Um…How come we changed before?"

"It's a family thing, Sonic. Almost everyone in our family can do that."

"Really?"

Shadow nodded. "Of course, it will only pass down to our kids if we marry someone from outside the clan. For some reason if we try it with someone related to us, it wouldn't work. You'll know if you meet someone from our clan, seeing as ours is the only one still around in the world."

Sonic blinked, somewhat understanding. "Okay…"

"Now, as I was saying, the first shift usually occurs on the full moon of our 17th birthday."

Sonic blinked again, this time in shock and surprise. "17? But I'm-"

Shadow held up a hand, signaling Sonic to be quiet. "I know, son, but the reason for that is because you were in an accident and lost some of your memories."

"Is tat why I don't remember us moving here? And why you haven't left for your work in a long time?"

"Yes, it is. I've earned and saved up a lot of money over the years, so it'll last for a good long while."

Unable to think of a reply, Sonic remained silent.

Thoughts drifting, Sonic's mind wandered to the drawings. Especially the drawing of the building on fire. It still wouldn't leave him alone.

A sudden jolt of pain in his forehead made him instinctively grab it. Shadow, seeing the involuntary action, knew what was about to happen, and being the protective parent he was, rushed over to him.

_Heat and smoke everywhere…_

"No…"

_The urge to get her out…_

"No."

_Almost making it out. Then part of the building collapses. Trapping her._

"No!"

_Needing to help, but being held back. Can only watch as the entire place collapses onto her._

"NO!"

That last yell caused Sonic's slightly unstable Chaos Energy to react to the strong emotions of pain and despair, and it built up rapidly.

Shadow sensed this reaction, and quickly used Chaos Control to warp them to a remote section of the woods their house resided in.

Just in time, too, as Sonic unleashed a large amount of Chaos Energy in a single explosion, throwing Shadow back several feet and into a tree.

After that, Sonic shifted into his Lycan form again and let out a long howl, letting out his feelings of sadness, grief, and emotional pain.

Despite nearly falling into unconsciousness due to colliding with a tree, Shadow stood up and shifted as well, joining the howl.

For the second time in an hour, they grieved.

They howled for 15 minutes before stopping, though neither shifted back yet.

**Mother gone…Mother dead.**

**But…Father still here.**

**How long…until Father is also gone?**

**No. Can't think about it.**

**Still…**

**Worried…**

**Don't want Father to leave too…**

**Whine.**

**Afraid.**

**Don't want him to leave…Don't want Father to die…**

One of the traits of being a Lycan was being able to be empathic to any pack member's feelings, so Shadow could sense what Sonic was feeling, whether in his Lycan form or not. Sonic would develop this ability once he officially transformed next week. Also, the empathy worked both ways, letting members of the pack transmit most feelings to one another. This was useful whenever younglings were afraid or uncertain and in need of comfort. It would also help them further develop the empathy ability.

_**Pup worried. Pup afraid.**_

_**Danger?**_

_**No.**_

_**No Danger.**_

_**There is no scent of Danger.**_

_**Must reassure Pup.**_

_**Must let Pup know he is safe.**_

Using the two-way empathy, Shadow emitted feelings of reassurance and comfort.

**Blink.**

**Confused.**

**Other Feelings aren't my own…**

**Father's?**

**Unsure…**

**But feel safe.**

**Relaxed.**

**Tired…**

Shadow watched as Sonic yawned, showing off rather impressive fangs. He knew that the both of them had had a long, emotional day. So, he decided that they needed to go back home and retire for the night.

_**Nudge.**_

"_**Shift back, Pup."**_

Sonic was so tired, he almost didn't feel the nudge or hear Shadow speaking to him in the Lycan language. His ears twitched, though, when he realized he was being spoken to.

**Who spoke to me?**

**Father?**

**What did he say?**

**Wasn't listening.**

**Tired…**

**Yawn.**

Shadow let out what could be considered a sigh. A tired Sonic was a usually inattentive Sonic. He knew he would have to repeat the command.

"_**Shift back, pup."**_

Although he was tired, Sonic still heard the repeated command, and since he didn't have the energy to protest or anything, he complied and shifted back into a hedgehog. Then he fell asleep right after leaning on Shadow, using him as a pillow.

Startled at first when he felt Sonic lean on him, Shadow debated if he should shift back as well or not. He decided against it, though, figuring that he would be able to better protect his son this way.

_**Protect.**_

_**Must protect Pup.**_

_**Will protect Pup.**_

_**Always.**_

With those thoughts in mind, Shadow remained alert for signs of anything unnatural to the forest. Sounds, sights, scents. It didn't matter. He would be aware for them; he would destroy the sources if he had to.

His ears twitched when he heard a small whimper coming from right beside him. Then he felt Sonic shifting, starting to thrash.

_**Pup dreaming.**_

_**Bad dream?**_

_**Or memory?**_

_**Must find out.**_

_**Have to wake Pup.**_

The goal set, Shadow shifted back into a hedgehog and started to shake Sonic's shoulder. "Sonic, wake up! Sonic!" He tried his best to stay calm, but since he wasn't sure what was afflicting his son, he sounded slightly panicked.

But Sonic wouldn't awaken. In fact, the thrashing seemed to get worse.

Not knowing what else to do, Shadow shifted back into his Lycan form and bit down on Sonic's ear, though it wasn't hard enough to draw blood.

Oddly enough, it worked and Sonic's eyes snapped open. He shot up, nearly ripping his ear to shreds from Shadow's fangs, but luckily Shadow let go before that could happen. The boy was panting heavily and shivering, pure terror etched on his face.

Shadow shifted back into a hedgehog. 'You alright, Sonic?"

His breath still coming in as sharp hitches, Sonic nodded jerkily. "I…I remember…"

"Everything?"

Sonic nodded again. "Everything…"

'He remembered 13 years of memories in a few minutes? It's a wonder he didn't overload from reabsorbing so much information in one go.'

"Are you sure you're okay, son?"

"I…I don't know…"

"Speaking from experience, I wasn't all that sure about how I felt when I recovered my memories. You're not the first one who's gone through it, and I doubt you'll be that last."

Still trembling like a leaf during a hurricane, Sonic just sat there.

Shadow sighed and yet _again_ shifted into his Lycan form, radiating calm and comforting emotions.

Sonic was a little confused, and apprehensive, when he saw his father suddenly change like that, but then a faint memory of being able to do the same, so he visibly relaxed, somewhat.

Suddenly he felt a twinge of envy. He wanted to change like that again. If he remembered correctly, he _could. _He just wondered how…

He then felt an odd pulse throughout his body. Then he felt a light burning sensation. It only lasted a few seconds, and then he felt…different. Not in a bad way, but still different.

He looked over at Shadow, and saw that he was wearing an expression of approval and pride. Had he done it?

"_**Excellent, pup."**_

Sonic couldn't help bristling at that.

**Anger.**

**Growl.**

**Not Pup!**

While Shadow was amused at Sonic's indignation, he knew he would have to explain one of the clan customs.

"_**You are Pup. Even after you become Adult and officially shift, you are still my Pup. Therefore, I will still call you Pup. That is a pack custom."**_

Sonic couldn't believe what he was hearing. Shadow was really allowed to call him that?

**Furious.**

**Snarl.**

**Slash.**

If there was one thing Shadow expected from Sonic's reaction, it sure wasn't that. Unprepared for the attack, he caught the brunt of it on the side of his muzzle. The wounds weren't too deep, but they still bled.

Once the gravity of the situation sunk in for both of them, Shadow was ticked off, and Sonic was slightly afraid for his life, mostly because he hadn't the faintest idea as to what the Lycan customs would dictate about punishing someone who attacked their Elder.

Instinct took over for Sonic, however, and he flattened his ears against his head, his body to the ground, and tucked his tail between his legs. He trembled again, mostly because images of his life on the streets, how he had been treated, were playing in his head, and his thoughts were running wild as he imagined Shadow treating him the same way. His heart was pounding in his chest as he battled the urge to just run away.

Shadow, meanwhile, could practically _see_ the fear rolling off Sonic in waves. It was enough to dissipate his anger.

_**Pup afraid…**_

_**No, terrified.**_

_**Of me.**_

_**Of punishment.**_

_**But punishment needn't be feared.**_

_**Why…?**_

_**Of course. Pup was hurt before, as 'punishment.'**_

_**Anger.**_

_**No one harms Pup!**_

_**Must eliminate Threat.**_

Shadow then ran off towards the city where he had been reunited with Sonic. It took Sonic a few minutes to realize this though, as his mind was still clouded in terror.

**Where is Father going?**

**No punishment?**

**Confused.**

**Still afraid.**

**Don't want hatred.**

**Don't want…Father's hatred.**

**Nor pain.**

**Don't want hatred or pain…**

**Whine.**

Unsure of what to do, Sonic simply curled up, waiting for Shadow to return, and still trembling.

_With Shadow…_

_**Have to eliminate threat.**_

_**They threat to Pup.**_

_**They caused Pup pain.**_

_**So much pain.**_

_**And fear.**_

_**They shall pay!**_

Those thoughts were what drove Shadow to run as fast as he could to the city, anger coursing through his veins.

He gave a wolfish grin as he heard the scream of a human who had spotted him from a distance.

It was all too easy.

He tracked down the ones who had hurt Sonic, which was really 99 percent of the city's total population, simply due to their scent. He had a large fraction of his senses in his hedgehog form, and he knew that most of the scents that had radiated off of Sonic during their first encounter had been from the ones who hurt him the most, as they were the most prominent.

He tore through the throat of a young female, feeling her warm blood on his fur, tasting it.

He did the same to many others that night. Shredding throats, slicing them in half, disemboweling, decapitating, sometimes just severely wounding them and leaving them to die. He caused so much death and destruction, that he was enjoying it. He had even gone into their dens to get access to them.

It took a few hours, but he was done. Covered in blood, but his objective was complete. All the people in the city were dead.

_**Tired.**_

_**But Threat eliminated.**_

_**Pup no longer has to fear.**_

_**Have to get back to Pup now.**_

And that's just what he did. He ran back to Sonic, not even bothering to do anything about the blood.

Sonic had been close to dozing off, but when he saw the familiar figure of his father, _covered in blood_ and running _towards_ _him_, he panicked and scrambled to get up so that he could run away, only his limbs weren't responding correctly due to his immense fear.

**No!**

**Father coming to punish!**

**Have to get away!**

No matter how hard he tried, though, Sonic was too afraid to move. His trembling intensified as Shadow came closer, and he let out small whimpers of fear.

Once again Shadow could see the fear rolling off of Sonic, so he stopped running and skidded to a stop.

"_**Do not be afraid, Pup. Threat is gone."**_

Although Sonic felt a small surge of anger at the term, it was quickly replaced by even more fear as he recalled that hi anger at the term had caused all this in the first place. He also wondered what Shadow meant by 'threat'.

**Nervous.**

**Afraid.**

"**Threat, Father?"**

Shadow figured that either Sonic didn't know of the Threat, or he was trying to forget about what he had endured during his life on the streets. Either way, he would have to explain what he meant.

"_**Those in the city. Threat. Danger. They have harmed you, and I made them pay. No more Danger."**_

Shadow was emitting calming, protective emotions as he said this, and it helped Sonic calm down. He was still trembling from the idea of Shadow possibly treating him like the people in the city had, but most of his fear had dissipated.

"**No punishment?"**

The only reason Sonic asked was because he still needed to know what the clan customs said about attacking an Elder.

"_**Pack Laws state that punishment must fit the crime only in the case of a Pup's punishment, and an Elder can punish however they choose."**_

Sonic's fear returned a hundred times greater than it was a minute ago.

**Afraid.**

**So afraid.**

**Don't want punishment.**

**Don't want pain.**

Sonic tried to shove the memories away, but his attempts were in vain. He kept reliving that horrible part of his life. The hate, the scorn, the beatings.

Shadow wondered how many times he would have to comfort Sonic before the night was over, but he knew that the reassurance would help with his recovery. Even if Sonic had remembered the good times in his life, he also remembered the bad, and would have to recover from that all over again.

Although their customs said that he had to punish Sonic, with what he'd been through, he knew he couldn't. Not only might it cause Sonic further psychological damage, but it might also make him think that Shadow no longer care about him. Especially since the punishment guidelines simply stated, to "be as brutal as possible without killing."

Of course, that law only went into full effect once the younglings went through their first shift. Only until then can they be punished however their Elders choose.

Even so, he didn't want Sonic to fear him.

"_**No, Pup. No punishment."**_

Sonic had never felt so relieved in his life. He was glad that he wouldn't be punished. It was bad enough when he was beaten by complete strangers who hated his guts, but if his own father, someone who cared for him, started doing the same…He shivered at the thought.

**No punishment.**

**Good.**

**Only…**

**Still feel fear…Why?**

**Memories…of hate. And fear.**

**Don't want memories.**

**Soft growl.**

**Dizzy.**

**Why…?**

Shadow could only watch as Sonic swayed and suddenly fainted, the younger male shifting back into a hedgehog.

Worried, Shadow, too, shifted back, and rushed over to him, ignoring the fact that he was still covered in blood.

"Sonic?"

It took a few repeats of his name before Sonic stirred, emerald and ruby eyes blinking slowly in confusion. "Da?"

"What happened, son?"

Sonic slowly sat up, still feeling a little dizzy. "I dunno…"

"Sonic, what's the last thing you remember?" Shadow asked, wondering what had brought on this sudden change in demeanor.

"Falling asleep."

'Alright, either Sonic somehow managed to develop Multiple Personality Disorder and his child self is an alter, or he tried to suppress his memories of his hard life on the streets and accidentally suppressed the rest of the ones he recovered, becoming a four year-old again,' Shadow thought.

"You don't remember anything else?"

Sonic shook his head. "Nope." Then his brows furrowed in confusion. "I think I had a dream, but I don't remember it."

"Was the dream good or bad?"

"Um…bad, I think."

"What did you see?" Shadow didn't want to push him if Sonic really had suppressed his memories, but he needed to know what was going on.

Bits and pieces of the nightmares were coming back to Sonic, but they were so faint and brief, he couldn't exactly remember what they held. "I don't…remember…" Sonic started feeling pressured, confused, and scared. Why didn't he remember? It was important that he remember! He started shaking from the overwhelming emotions, tears falling down his face.

Shadow, seeing his son's distress, placed a comforting hand on his shoulder. "Sonic-"

"I don't remember! I just don't remember!" Sonic cried hysterically. He crumpled to the ground, sobbing.

Shadow winced, for the yell was almost loud enough to make his sensitive ears bleed, but he started rubbing circles on the youth's back, trying to soothe him. "It's okay, son. You don't have to remember it now."

"I-I don't?" came the tentative, choked question from Sonic, who was still feeling slightly pressured.

"It's okay if you don't remember. Just give it time. It'll come back to you at the right time."

Sonic looked at him apprehensively. "But…I don't think I wanna remember, Da."

'Now we're getting somewhere. I hope,' Shadow thought. "Why do you say that, son?"

"Cause if i can't remember it, and it was bad, then why should I remember it?"

'I didn't realize Sonic could be logical,' Shadow thought, smirking to himself. "That is good thinking, but you will have to remember the dream, whether you want to or not."

Sonic pouted, some of his childish nature coming back.

"None of that, Sonic. That dream _will_ come back to you. It was a memory from before the accident, so you will remember in time."

Sonic's dual-colored eyes flashed in anger. "I don't _want_ to remember!"

Shadow was struggling to reign in his own anger. It wouldn't do either if them any good if he were to lash out. Sure, Sonic had done the same not too long ago, but this was different. Sonic's lashing out had been an act of defiance. Shadow's would be out of pure anger, and he didn't want to make his son fear him.

The two hedgehogs continued their staring match, but Sonic's Lycan self was urging him to break eye contact. He wouldn't give in, however. He was too stubborn.

All of a sudden, both hedgehogs shifted and the newly transformed Lycans lunged at each other.

Sonic managed to strike first, his claws digging into Shadow's side, and elongated fangs sinking into his shoulder.

Shadow growled from the pain and promptly clouted Sonic in the side of the head, hard enough to make him let go.

Sonic did so with a startled yelp.

"_**Enough, you insolent Pup!"**_

Sonic stared at him, shocked that not only was the first time he'd ever seen Shadow this angry, at least in his young mind, but the hit…triggered something.

**Made Father angry.**

**Angry like…the Others.**

**Others from the…memories.**

**Bad memories.**

**Of pain.**

**And being hated.**

**No!**

Don't want them!

**Don't want bad memories!**

His pupils shrank to the point of being practically non-existent as the rest of his memories returned yet again.

He let out a howl of pain and anguish, clutching the sides of his head in his massive paws.

Shadow's eyes widened as the gravity of the situation sunk in.

_**Pup frightened.**_

_**Pup hurting.**_

_**Guilt.**_

_**Shouldn't have struck Pup.**_

_**Now Pup fears self.**_

_**Pup not supposed to fear…**_

_**Not supposed to hurt.**_

_**Need to eliminate source of Pup's fear and hurt…**_

_**But can't destroy self.**_

_**Then Pup would be alone.**_

_**With no pack.**_

_**No protection.**_

_**Must protect Pup…**_

_**But how to protect Pup from self?**_

Shadow was conflicted on what to do. He couldn't – _wouldn't _– leave Sonic all alone again, but his instincts were screaming for him to get rid of the source of the youngling's pain and terror.

So, he took his frustrations out on himself, mostly as a way of punishing himself for his mistake.

He didn't care that he was already covered in blood.

He didn't care that he was doing this right in front of Sonic.

All he cared about was atoning for what he'd done.

Sonic, meanwhile, had finished regaining the other 13 years of his life via memories for the second time that night, but he still retained some remembrance of the earlier events, including what had brought on the memory regain.

Shaking his head to get rid of the pain, he looked over at the older male.

**Father punishing himself.**

**Confused.**

**Why should Father punish himself?**

**Was own punishment mistake?**

**Whine.**

**Unsure.**

**Shouldn't have defied.**

**But…Father feels guilt…**

**For punishing…**

**Father shouldn't have to feel guilt.**

**Father should-**

**Ear twitch.**

**Intruder.**

**Growl.**

Sure enough, there was a rustle in the bushes, and it even caught Shadow's attention, making him stop mauling himself and get to his feet – er, paws – and in front of Sonic despite the pain from his wounds. They would heal soon enough. It was part of the Lycan bloodline to have enhanced healing abilities.

_**Snarl.**_

_**Threat?**_

_**Danger?**_

_**Must eliminate Threat.**_

_**Must protect Pup.**_

They both waited, hackles raised, and both were equally shocked, and in Sonic's case, ticked off as well, when Knuckles the Echidna stepped into view. He seemed to have recovered fully from Sonic's beating the hell out of him months ago.

He was certainly surprised when he saw the two Lycans standing right in front of him. He didn't recognize Shadow due to the fact that he was still completely covered in blood, but when he saw the dual colored eyes of Sonic, a semi-dark smirk appeared on his face.

"Well, well, well, looks like the weird eyed freak just became even more of a freak."

Sonic bristled. Although the insults made Sonic have flashbacks to the harsher part of his life, the fact that it was Knuckles insulting him made him see red.

**Snarl.**

**Echidna is Enemy.**

**Have to fight.**

Sonic crouched down low, getting ready to lunge, but a warning growl from Shadow made him stop. His eyes narrowed at Knuckles, however, filled with contempt before glancing back at Shadow.

"**Father…he is my Enemy. Mine to fight."**

Knuckles wasn't entirely sure what the new wolf-like Sonic was saying, but he could tell by the way his eyes flashed when he looked at the older, blood-covered male that Sonic was protesting something. He could also tell by the body language that Sonic wanted to fight.

"Tch, little freak. You really think you'll beat me again? Last time was just a fluke. You wont get me by surprise this time, you little street filth." Knuckles' voice was full of disdain, and it only aggravated Sonic further.

Without warning, Knuckles ran over and punched Sonic in the jaw before throwing a series of jabs at Sonic's stomach and torso, as well as kicking him in the knees, arms, head and on his back.

It all happened before either Sonic or Shadow had time to react. Of course, Knuckles _had_ forgotten about Shadow being there as well.

_**Snarl.**_

_**Anger.**_

_**Pup getting hurt!**_

_**Have to protect!**_

_**Must destroy Echidna!**_

Shadow lunged at Knuckles, claws aiming for the throat. Knuckles saw the movement from the corner of his eye and reacted quickly, punching Shadow in the stomach with as much strength as he could muster. It was enough to knock the wind out of him, fracture his ribs, and send him flying back a few feet.

Sonic, meanwhile, was battered and bloody. Knuckles' strength made the beatings he'd gotten from the two years he was on his own seem like feathery touches. He was sure that he had more than one broken bone.

It was simply too much, and he lost consciousness, no longer having the energy to remain awake or to maintain his Lycan form, causing him to shift back into a hedgehog.

"Heh, I knew the little freak wasn't so tough. He's nothing more than street trash. No one would ever care for filth like him."

With his keen hearing, Shadow heard every word, and saw red.

Not wanting to waste energy in his Lycan form, he shifted back, stood up while ignoring the pain in his chest from his fractured ribs, and dashed over to Knuckles, giving him a right hook to the face, breaking his nose and causing it to bleed.

"You fucking no-good son of a bitch! Don't _ever_ say that about my son, you piece of shit! Come near him again and I'll rip your fucking limbs off and then leave you to die!" Shadow's voice was dark, sending shivers down the Echidna's back. Knuckles also saw the cold fury in the older hedgehog's eyes.

Knuckles didn't like being threatened, but he could tell that Shadow would go through with his word, so he nodded once.

"Good. Now, get the hell out of here before you end up worse than Sonic," Shadow threatened, his canines bared like a rabid wolf's.

Clutching his broken nose, Knuckles ran as though the hounds of hell were on his heels.

Sighing heavily, Shadow struggled to rein in his temper.

Every breath hurt, but at the moment, he didn't care. Even if he took small breaths, he could still calm himself that way.

Once he was calm, he turned his head to look at his son. His fists clenched as he saw how badly beaten Sonic was. If he ever saw that Echidna again, he would not only live up to his threat, he would rip off Knuckles' limbs _very_ slowly, and with a rusty saw.

He would worry about that later, though.

Right now, he needed to heal his son.

Fully turning towards Sonic, he knelt down and placed his hands over his son's torso, summoning his Chaos Energy.

It flared up like a wildfire, but it was still under enough control so that it would do whatever Shadow needed. And right now, he needed it to heal Sonic.

Leaving his hands and entering Sonic's body, the healing Energy did its job and repaired every single wound the younger hedgehog had.

It took a few minutes, but afterwards, Sonic was completely healed. He remained unconscious, however. While the physical wounds were healed, Shadow wondered about any emotional or mental wounds that his son endured, since Knuckles' words and actions were similar to what Sonic had been through for two years.

Shadow sighed, a mistake he paid for with a sharp pain in his chest, but he ignored it and picked up his son before using Chaos Control to get them back home.

Once he was there, he headed up to Sonic's room and gently placed his unconscious son on the indigo-colored bed. Knowing that it would be best if Sonic awoke to something familiar, Shadow started to walk over to pick up the stuffed Chao which was right next to the wall. He tried to walk over to it, only to find that, once again, Sonic had a hold of his arm.

'Not again…How does he even have a grip on my arm if he's unconscious?' Shadow thought.

Since he wasn't likely to get an answer anytime soon, and knowing that his arm wouldn't be free until his son woke up, he prepared for a night of no sleep and having the circulation in his arm slightly cut off. At least Sonic's grip wasn't tight enough to risk having permanently having nerve and blood flow problems.

'At least I can use the time to heal my ribs.'

He concentrated on letting his Chaos Energy flow through his body and settle in his chest in order to take care of the fractured ribs. Once that was done, he simply waited for his son to wake up. He just hoped it was soon.

_Later…_

It was early afternoon when Sonic decided to regain consciousness, and by then, Shadow had dozed off leaning against the bed.

It took about a minute for Sonic to recall the previous night's events, and when he did, he almost literally ran out of bed. The memories of his old life on the streets, Knuckles beating him, and even the memory of the clout he received to the head from his own father, were all jumbled and mixed together.

He suddenly grew afraid of doing something that would end up with being in that kind of pain again.

Trembling slightly, he quickly let go of his father's arm and quietly ran out of the room.

He needed to get away.

The question was, how?

He was right inches away from the front door when he stopped to think about what he was about to do.

'If I leave now, I'll just end up back where I was before Dad found me. If I don't, things might become the way they were, being alone and scorned…either way I'd go back to that.'

He clenched his fists and punched the wooden door.

"Damn it, what the hell am I supposed to do?"

"Well, for starters, you could stop hitting the door before you break your hand," a familiar voice came from the stairway.

Sonic froze, going pale. He could've sworn his heart stopped as well.

Shadow had woken up when he had heard the soft sound of footsteps. Honestly, had Sonic forgotten about his heightened sense of hearing?

It had amused him, the fact that his own son would forget that little detail.

After standing up and stretching, Shadow had taken a quick shower to wash off the dried blood before looking for Sonic.

He had just gotten to the stairs when he saw his son standing in front of the door, uncertain about something.

'Why is he…? He's not thinking of running away, is he?' Shadow thought in disbelief.

He started feeling guiltier about striking the younger male the previous night. He hadn't _wanted_ to react that way, but his anger had gotten the best of him.

'Punishments are meant to teach, not to instill fear.'

Wondering how he was supposed to handle the situation, Shadow's train of thought was interrupted by Sonic's punching the door and shouting:

"_Damn it, what the hell am I supposed to do?"_

Normally, Shadow would scold his son for using vulgar language, but given his own bout of swearing the night before, he knew he probably shouldn't, even if Sonic had been unconscious for that part.

Instead, he merely expressed concerns about him hitting the door.

He grew even more concerned and guilty as he saw his son freeze. He could tell Sonic was afraid; his fear was practically a veil around him.

Sonic was shaking, though he tried to hide it.

'Shit! I'm such an idiot! I shouldn't have made any noise! Now he'll probably hit me again just for waking him.'

His memories were still mixed together, making it impossible to think of anything else.

He heard his father walking up behind him, and without thinking, he grabbed the door knob, flung the door open, and bolted out of the house, panic overtaking him.

"Sonic, wait!" Shadow called out.

But it was too late. Sonic was gone, out of sight in a matter of seconds.

And all Shadow could do was stare in the direction he went. Then, he copied his son's action from a minute ago, and punched the door, hard enough to break and splinter the wood, bits of it embedding into his fist. Silent tears were making their way down his tan muzzle as he fell to his knees.

'Sonic…I'm sorry…'

_T.B.C…_

Yes, yes, I know. Another cliffhanger. Sorry about that, guys. I was trying really hard not to end this with one, but I couldn't find the right place to stop. Don't worry, things will be resolved next chapter.

I worked hard on this chapter, though, and it's truly the longest I've ever written in my life. 25 pages on MS Word!

For all those Knuckles fans, please don't kill me for making him such an asshole. He won't appear much anyway. I'm not very fond of Knuckles…

Anyone else find it ironic how Shadow doesn't like Sonic cursing, yet let out a string of curses himself in this chapter? I just wanted to give him a reason to do so, and getting angry at Knuckles seemed like a good idea.

Anyway, I know you're going to have questions as to why I made Sonic and Shadow Lycanthropes when I already have a Werehog fanfic up. It's a little different from being a Werehog, as it was explained in this chapter, but I will explain the differences if you don't understand.

Werehog- Forced shifting at night, unless "born" one, then they are a permanent Werehog. Like little Werepuppy Shadow.

Lycanthrope- Only the first shift is forced. Afterwards, they can shift at will.

Werehog- Muscular, wears cleats, fluffy, can walk on hind legs, stretchy arms.

Lycanthrope- Lithe, no clothes, fluffy, walks on all fours, body structure is similar to a wolf's.

Werehog- Retains normal language skills and behaviors.

Lycanthrope- Reverts to more primal thoughts and behaviors.

That's all the differences between the two for now. I will give future information if I can of any.

So, how many of you liked the younger persona of Sonic? I tried hard to make him as childlike as possible, but I think I messed up a few times. Forgive me.

Well, goodbye for now, guys! Until next chapter/story if you following my other one. Right now it's 5:30 in the morning as I finish this, but I'm not tired yet.

Review, please!

ShidesuHejjihoggu


	13. Petition

The administrators of are as of June 4th going to be taking down Fics that have lemons or have extreme violence. Now I don't know about you but I think thats stupid. There are many wonderful fics that only have one or two lemons in them yet the plot itself is awesome! You can't just take down a 100,000+ word fic just because it has a lemon in a chapter that is only 1000 words long. Now I urge you all to read the petition below, sign it, and repost this to your own fics. Hopefully if we make enough noise everything will return to normal. Thank you.

Greetings to the fine folk that moderate our site.

Myself, along with many, have been writing and posting on your fine site for years now, some of the better examples of up and coming writers out there are now suddenly finding some of the stories we've come to love at risk of being removed without the chance to even rectify our errors.

For some, that means the permanent loss of a story. While I don't have anything that I believe violates your terms of use, there are those out there that are never able to recover a story in its original form, this is something I find to be almost worthy of a legal action, as while we cannot claim ownership of a character, the stories are OURS and simply destroying them is something that is inexcusable.

It's quite easy to simply add an MA rating, additional filters or even a simple requirement for a free membership to read the stories presented here, and would cut down on hateful anonymous reviews and posts at the same time, so I have to question as to why such a thing, in all this time, simply wasn't added.

If you're worried about falsification of a registration then have an appropriate disclaimer and then there can be no dispute, you took your steps and the PARENTS didn't monitor their children, if that is even your concern. If it is more of a personal view or desire then please at least let people know and give them a chance to remove a story that you and yours find offensive, most people on the site are actually rather cordial when it comes to such requests.

While I cannot say for sure if this letter will even reach those that may be willing to listen, of if it's more akin to a wide spectrum purge in preparation for something bigger, please understand that you are going to be looseing a LARGE number of your writers, and thus your income from a lack of readers if there is not some level of action taken to help with this situation.

For those that may agree with this, please feel free to sign on and send this to the support server, maybe we can get some movement on this.

Psudocode_Samurai

Rocketman1728

dracohalo117

VFSNAKE

Agato the Venom Host

Jay Frost

SamCrow

Blood Brandy

Dusk666

Hisea Ori

The Dark Graven

BlackRevenant

Lord Orion Salazar Black

Sakusha Saelbu

Horocrux

socras01

Kumo no Makoto

Biskoff

Korraganitar the NightShadow

NightInk

Lazruth

ragnrock kyuubi

SpiritWriterXXX

Ace6151

FleeingReality

Harufu

Exiled crow

Slifer1988

Dee Laynter

Angeldoctor

Final Black Getsuga

ZamielRaizunto

Fenris187

blood enraged

arashiXnoXkami

Masane Amaha's King

Blueexorist

Nero Angelo Sparda

Uzunaru999

Time Hollow

fg7dragon

Raven Servathen

Eradona

Fokker333

KingofthePhantomDragon

ShidesuHejjihoggu


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